Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem’s Awakening
by Pharaohs Queen
Summary: April is a girl who works with Lan and Chaud at SciLabs. Her grandfather Dr. Cossack, the creator of Bass, left her with the task of creating what he was unable to finish. What will happen when she succeeds? Rated T for OOCness and some violence.
1. Prologue: Alpha Revolt

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Prologue

"Alpha Revolt"

In a small house on the outskirts of town, an old man sat typing rapidly away on a keyboard. Outside, a storm raged.

Lightning crackled, somewhere close. Seconds later, thunder roared over the house, shaking the walls. Moments later, a small girl with shoulder-length red hair came rushing into the room. "Grandpa! Grandpa!"

The old man turned in surprise. "April?" She ran into his arms, and he held his granddaughter close. "My dear April, you're not scared of the thunder are you?" She nodded, her eyes tightly squeezed shut.

"Now April." He said, holding her at arm's length and looking her straight in the face. "You are 11-years-old and very bright. Surely you know by now that thunder is nothing but noise?"

Slowly, April's eyes opened and she nodded slowly. "Is it wrong to be scared?" She whispered. Her grandfather smiled kindly.

"No my darling, it certainly is not. Why even I get scared sometimes!"

"_You _get scared Grandpa Cossack?"

"Why yes I do. Shall I tell you a story about a time when I was scared?"

The young girl nodded vigorously and settled herself more comfortably in her grandfather's lap.

The rain beat loudly against the window as he started his story by the bright light of a computer screen.

"It all began with the creation of the Net, over a decade ago. I was young at that time—"

"Was your hair still white, Grandpa?"

"No, no, darling. My hair was a red as yours. Back then I had also programmed the very first NetNavi capable of wholly independent function. He needed no help from anyone, and was only kind to me as his creator…"

---

"Dr. Cossack! Dr. Cossack!"

"Hm?" Dr. Cossack looked up from his cup of tea at a young man running with all speed towards him. His brand new lab coat blended in with the white shiny walls.

The young man stopped, huffing and puffing, in front of the table Dr. Cossack was sitting in. "Oh…good…I've finally… found you…" he stammered out between large gulps of air.

Dr. Cossack peered curiously at the young man through his glasses. "Yes, so you have. Now who are you?"

"Oh! Right." The young man straightened and raised his hand in a salute. "I'm Yuichiro Hikari! I was hired by Scilab only last month."

Recognition sparked in Dr. Cossack's eyes. "Ah, yes! You're the elder Hikari's son! I see the resemblance! You know, I'll always been indebted to your father, m'boy!"

Dr. Hikari blushed. "Well, you know…" Suddenly, he blinked and grabbed Dr. Cossack's arm. "Ack!! This isn't the time! We've gotta hurry to the lab!" He pulled Dr. Cossack down the hall, explaining: "The Netnavi you created—Bass!! Something's wrong with him!"

Dr. Cossack's eyes widened behind his spectacles. "What?" He dashed ahead of Dr. Hikari, leaving the younger scientist in the dust. "My poor, dear Bass! Hang in there! I'll save you!" he cried, disappearing down the hallway in a second.

----

"As it turned out, Bass hadn't needed saving at all. It was the Navi's guarding the system that needed rescuing from _him_!" Dr. Cossack gave a little chuckle.

"But why would he do that Grandpa? Why would he attack other Navi's like him?" The light from the computer screen was reflected in April's wide eyes.

"That's the thing! He wasn't like them. One of Bass' main functions was to troubleshoot the systems. He had gotten rid of dozens of dangerous defects and other problems within Scilab's computers. Unfortunately, in the process, Bass deleted over 70 NetNavis and brought down about 25 of Scilab's major programs." Dr. Cossack's eyes misted over as he remembered. "He was too advanced—superior! And he knew it!"

---

Dr. Cossack could feel the laser beam of the head scientists glares, as they all stared down the table at him.

"This is the limit, Dr. Cossack!" one scientist declared. "Bass must be deleted!"

"I agree! His usefulness is over!" chimed in another.

"How DARE you!" Dr. Cossack yelled, banging his fist down on the table for emphasis. "Dangerous defects have been purged from our systems because of Bass. You _know_ he's different from other Navis! He thinks for _himself_! He makes his own decisions and _acts_ on them! Bass is a _living being_!"

The other scientists stole sideways glances at each other. A couple cracked small grins. "Interesting assessment…" one said.

"…For a mass of compiled data!" Finished another. "This is no time for sentiment, Dr. Cossack!"

---

April looked stunned. "How can they say that? They're just a mass of compiled bones, muscles, and nerve endings!"

Dr. Cossack chuckled. "How I wished I could've told them that. But I didn't want to risk deletion for Bass. He was the one thing I had care of—until I received guardianship for you." Here, he tickled April's stomach. She squirmed and giggled until she was out of breath and he stopped.

"What did happen to Bass?" she asked, after getting her breath back.

Dr. Cossack's face darkened. "The next few days were the worst of my life. I had managed to save Bass from deletion, but at a cost. At all times, he was to be contained in a holding cell, with limiters."

"What are limiters?"

"Little programs designed to limit power. With Bass, they reduced him to one-tenth of what he had been…"

---

Bass gritted his teeth as the laughing guards finally stopped poking fun at him and turned around. Being locked up and powered down was embarrassing enough, especially when he could normally just escape with just a snap of his fingers. He hated not being able to help his creator, Dr. Cossack, with the task he had been assigned to do.

It was only because Dr. Cossack had asked him to that he was sitting here, now, in this holding cell, cooperating with annoying little specks like those guards. His hands clenched into tight fists.

"How're you doing Bass?"

He turned around in surprise. A screen had appeared, with Dr. Cossack looking sad and frustrated. "Stupid question," the doctor continued. "I'm sure you're miserable. But please understand…it was this, or deletion."

Bass looked closely at Dr. Cossack. Was that fear he saw in the doctor's eyes? Fear for whom? For himself? That option made no sense. Or, as a creator, was it for his creation?

Bass looked away and smiled a bit. "I understand, doctor." He stood up and faced Dr. Cossack. "So…do they suit me?" Dr. Cossack looked at him in surprise. "The bracelets and anklets, do they complement me? I hear that humans think such things are fashionable…so, am I stylin'?"

Tears started to weal up in Dr. Cossack's eyes. Bass was surprised. Had he upset Dr. Cossack somehow?

"You're very stylin' Bass…Fit to…kill…"

As the doctor logged out, Bass sat back down and turned his thoughts to human emotions.

_They're more complex than even my own data stream._ He thought. _If I can't understand them, then who can?_

---

Lightning cracked and thunder roared, but April ignored it, focusing instead on her grandfather's face.

"What happened then, Grandpa? Don't stop talking!" she said as her grandpa faltered in his telling.

His eyes darkened. "I'm sorry, April…What I did next, was…selfish…I was worried only about Bass…I didn't think about what would happen if I granted him greater power…after feeling as though I had betrayed him, I cared only about…proving that Bass was good, that…" he stopped and swallowed back some tears, unseen by his granddaughter. "That I was right; that I hadn't created a terror…"

---

"H-heat blade…" Dr. Cossack said between clenched teeth. "That, plus the limiters, will render Bass nearly powerless."

"Ah, so that's how it's done." Said the scientist who had just punched Dr. Cossack in the stomach. "Thank you for cooperating doctor."

An amplified voice sounded through the computer speakers and all around Scilab's net. "Bass! For the crime of systems destruction, you are to be deleted!"

With a wrench, Dr. Cossack saw the security Navis ganging up on his poor Bass, and he heard the cries from his creation: "NO! It wasn't me! YOU PEONS!!!"

Dr. Cossack lurched toward an empty terminal in the corner, still hearing Bass' voice behind him.

"GET OFF MY CASE!!!"

He typed furiously, searching for the programming of Bass' limiters.

"Dr. Cossack!" Bass yelled over the sounds of destruction. "You _must_ know the truth!"

Dr. Cossack's hands slipped on the keyboard as the other scientists laughed.

"_Why_ haven't you _intervened_?"

_Where is that programming?_

"I'm _innocent_! And you _know_ that!"

There was a ripping sound, a sickening thud, and Bass screamed. Then silence from the computers as the scientists started cheering.

A tear rolled down the doctor's face, unbidden, and he thought: _He's not gone yet; I would know it if he was…_

Suddenly, one of the computer terminals exploded as the elder Dr. Hikari ran into the room.

"Stop! STOP!!" he was yelling. "The destruction comes from the alpha system itself, not Bass! Jack everyone out NOW!"

Immediately, scientists relayed orders to the security Navis and the sounds of various explosions could be heard coming closer.

Dr. Cossack let out a little cheer. One of the explosions had destroyed several firewalls, giving him access to the programming for Bass' limiters. He typed even faster, rewriting the program with the only defense that came to his mind at the moment.

And, as though from far away, he heard a voice come out of the speakers.

"The order for you deletion still stands, Bass!"

_No, no…not yet…I'm almost done…_

"You're _gone_, Bass!"

Dr. Cossack typed the final keystroke.

"NOTHING CAN SAVE YOU NOW!!"

"Get-Ability Program! Execute!"

Dr. Cossack watched as the limiters fell apart, and flow into Bass' body. He watched as Bass summoned the first ability copied to him, and watched as Bass destroy the security Navi. He watched as Bass looked up; as if he knew that Dr. Cossack was watching, and he heard is dearest creation, his friend, declare:

"I am through with this! WITH EVERYONE!!"

---

Dr. Cossack swallowed again, as April wiped her eyes.

"That day," said Dr. Cossack dryly, "came to be know as the Alpha Revolt. And Bass—"

"—Became known as the 'Black Shadow' and the 'Messenger of Death', destroying anyone and anything he comes in contact with." Finished April. She looked at her grandfather and asked tentatively, "Right?"

He laughed and smiled at her. "Correct!"

She yawned, and grinned sleepily up at him. "Thanks for the story, Grandpa. I forgot what it's purpose was, but it was good all the same." She gave him a hug, and jumped off his lap. "G'night Grandpa!"

"Good night April." He said as she walked out of the room.

---

Later, when he was finished with his work, Dr. Cossack went to check up on April. She was sleeping quietly, twitching a little here and there, but with a little smile on her face. She murmered something, and he had to lean forward to catch it.

"I'll call you Nocturne."

Dr. Cossack smiled and crept back to his room and leaned close to the monitor.

"A fitting name for your first Navi, April. Well chosen indeed."

* * *

Few! Finally done! This took me forever to type!

Hello to all who missed me! (all…lessee…4 of you!) Pharaohs Queen is back!

It's summer again (the summer before my senior year! Woohoo!!) and I fell into a creative slump with 'Within the Traces of My Memories…' Recently, I became Megaman obsessed, and so came this story!

Join me as we follow April Cossack and her Navi, Nocturne, through an adventure with plots! Perials! Action! Laughter (I hope you all have my sense of humor)! And quite possibly…a little romance! And of course….

BASS!!!!!!!!!!!!! FANGIRL SQUEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (MarHeavenAngel…if you're reading this…you should be laughing your head off! And squeeing at the same time with me.)

Oh, and by the way…April is the same age as Lan and Chaud and all them. In the next chapter, it's 7 years into the future (meaning they're all 18 for the mathematically challenged.) In the next chapter, the real story gets started: April starts working at Scilab under Dr. Hikari (Lan's dad), we learn about April's strange appearance, and how everyone else sees her. The story will be written mostly in 3rd person point of view of April, and I will tell you when it's other wise.

There are 3 OC's: April (who is _**NOT**_, I repeat, _**NOT **_a Mary-Sue!), her Navi Nocturne (who is very cool…think Protoman with an air of funness, mixed in with some stuff from my own brain…hehe), and a mysterious figure named Requiem, whom we will learn a _ton_ about later, so don't bother asking.

Almost all of the flashback conversations were taken from Megaman volume 6 - the little special story at the end.

I enjoy reviews, not flames. 'course, I've only ever gotten one flame (it was a very lame one), because not many readers LEAVE REVIEWS!!!!! I CAN'T IMPROVE IF YOU PEOPLE DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO IMPROVE ON!!!!! I CAN'T AFFORD AN EDITOR!!!!

deep breath

yeah…glad I'm back?


	2. A New Boss… and Some Familar Coworkers

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 1

"A New Boss…and Some Familar Co-Workers"

7 Years Later… 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, MY TRAIN LEAVES IN 5 MINUTES?"

April, now 18, ran frantically around the small apartment, throwing clothes, books, papers, and screwdrivers around in an attempt to find her backpack.

"If you'd listen instead of panicking, you'd realize that I said _15_ minutes. Not 5." Said a voice from the PET on the table.

April froze mid-throw.

"Your backpack's right here on the chair, where you left it."

Seeing the green bag on the chair, April rejoiced.

"Aha! I can't leave without this! Thanks Nocturne." She added to the PET on the table. The Navi inside was mostly black with several dark purple streaks running from his shoulders down to his feet. A ponytail with hair so dark it was almost black, come to halfway down his back. His eyes were a bright forest green, much like April's.

"No problem April." He said, than looked pointedly to the clock on the wall. "But, if you don't leave now, you will be late."

"AHHHHHH!!!" April screamed. She grabbed the bag, Nocturne, and a set of keys before running out the door and towards the nearest subway station.

---

Finally aboard the train to Scilab, April sat down heavily and took a deep breath. "Few!" She said, wiping her forehead. "That was too close! Thanks for keeping me on time Nocturne."

He grinned at her. "Anything to keep you on your toes, April. Speaking of which," he reached into a corner of the screen; "you received some email on your mad dash. It's from your new boss."

"Really?" Asked April, intrigued. "Go ahead and play it."

A middle-aged man's face filled the screen. He had short brown hair that stuck around his face in spikes, wire-rimmed glasses, and a kind smile.

"_Greetings April Cossack",_ he began.

"_My name is Dr. Yuichiro Hikari, and I just recently found out that you are to be working under my direction._ _When you do get to Scilab, I would like you to report to me. My lab is on the fiftieth level, in the Silver Tower. It's the big silver door in front of the elevator. You can't miss it._ He chuckled and became serious again. _There are many things that you must tell me, the least of which is about your grandfather, and what happened to you both 3 years ago."_

April touched her right eye instinctively.

Dr. Hikari became all smiles again. "_I'll be waiting for you, April. You're going to enjoy it here at Scilab. Good-bye!_"

Nocturne tugged the email out of the way and stared at April.

"What are you going to tell him?"

April was running her finger around the part where metal meet flesh, reaching from the corner of her right eye almost to her ear. She bit the corner of her lower lip, like she did when she was thinking.

"I'll tell him the almost-truth."

Nocturne looked confused. "Almost? Not the whole thing?"

April shot a look at the PET in her hand. "You want him to know about my data card? And how it's connected to other parts of my brain that have nothing to do with vision?"

Nocturne drew back a little. "Well…besides all that, of course."

"Sorry, Nocturne. You know it's a—"

"—Sore subject. Yeah, I do."

April winked and pushed her finger to her lips. "What Dr. Hikari doesn't need to know won't hurt him. And neither does anyone else. Right?"

Nocturne smiled gratefully. "Correct."

They spent the rest of the trip watching the people that came on and off and whispering to each other about what awaited them at Scilab.

---

(Point-of-View: Yuichiro Hikari)

I had just finished my email to April and sent it off when I heard a voice behind me.

"Who was that for Dad?"

I jumped 5 feet into the air and whirled around to find my son, Lan, standing behind me.

"Lan! You nearly gave me a heart attack there!"

He laughed. "I know. So, who was that for anyways?"  
"The directors just assigned another youth for me to train." I smiled weakly. "As if I don't have my hands full with you and Chaud."

" 'Course you don't Dad." Lan said, brushing aside the remark. "What's his name?"

"_Her _name is April Cossack. She's just about your age. Anyone you know?"

Lan shrugged. "Doesn't ring a bell. Maybe once I meet her…"

"Wait a minute!" A voice came from Lan's side. He pulled out his PET.

"What is it, Megaman?"

"Isn't Cossack the name of the man who created Bass?"

Lan's eyes widened. "Right you are Megaman!" I chuckled. "From what I understand, April is his granddaughter."

Lan leapt into the air. "Wow! Now I really want to meet her! Maybe she can introduce us to her grandpa! Would he be someone to meet!"

"Don't you ever pay attention to the news Lan?"

I jumped again as another voice came from behind me. Chaud had walked into the room during our conversation.

"Would you boys stop doing that?" They ignored me.

"Three years ago, an assassination attempt was made on Dr. Cossack. The attempt failed, but left Dr. Cossack in a coma and his granddaughter, who was living with him, without a right eye." Chaud said this so matter-of-factly that it was almost possible to believe that he had been right there when it happened.

"How do you know all this?" Lan demanded.

Chaud looked back at him, a slight smirk on his face. "As I said, it was all over the news when it happened. There is a world outside of you and your girlfriend, Lan."

Lan twitched.

"Besides, Dr. Cossack was good friends with my own grandfather and father. We let her stay with us until she got old enough to move out. I've meet her a few times, but I haven't had a chance to talk to her since the…incident."

Lan leapt at Chaud. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can take cracks and me and Maylu!"

The two argued, and I watched them amusingly.

_There will never be a dull moment after this._ I thought.

---

Before she stepped into Scilab, April shrugged on her new lab coat. She had dyed it black and painted the symbol that she and Nocturne shared on the back.

Nocturne eyed the new coat. "Wow…you _were_ bored."

"Shut it." April muttered, squinting as she looked at a map.

"Ah. There it is. Silver Tower." She gulped. "Well…how do I look? Is this suitable for a first day at work?"

Nocturne snorted. "Suitable? You're wearing black jeans that blend into your coat, and a t-shirt green enough to be watered."

April grabbed the PET and started stuffing it into her backpack.

"But you look absolutely fine! It shows your individuality! That you don't care what anyone else thinks!"

April pulled the PET out and grinned at her sweating Navi. "Nice save." He grinned sheepishly. April pulled her backpack on and started in the direction of the Silver Tower. "Now let's go meet Dr. Hikari and get this little talk over with."

---

April stepped out of the elevator and stared at the door in front of her. "Wow…" she murmured. "Dr. Hikari was right. It _is_ hard to miss."

She rearranged her bangs in front of her right eye, and touched a pad next to the door. It slid open silently. She took a deep breath and walked inside.

Standing next to a giant computer screen was a man. He was alone. She walked up to him.

"Dr. Hikari?"

He jumped straight up and yelped. "Would you boys please stop—" he saw April and the rest of the sentence died in his throat.

April took let out the breath she had been holding. The man was the same as the one on the email. "Dr. Hikari, my name is April Cossack." She held out her hand and he shook it. "And this is my NetNavi, Nocturne." April held up the PET and Nocturne bowed.

"It is an honor to meet you Doctor."

Dr. Hikari blinked, that seemed to get over his shock. He grabbed April's free hand in both of his own.

"April my dear, it is an honor for you to join our team. Let me show you to our office, where you can put your stuff down, and then I will take you on a small tour.

April's office was a small little room, but bigger than her bedroom in her apartment. There was a desk lining one wall, with a PET holder resting on it; a window lining the wall opposite the door; and, best of all, a giant monitor with several sets of keyboards resting underneath.

As April set her backpack on the desk, Dr. Hikari started explaining.

"This computer links you to the entire Scilab network. This is where you will be doing your own individual projects. Anything you are assigned to do with me, you will do out here, in the lab."

He exited the room and April followed, drinking everything in with her eyes.

"Your other work station will be here, next to mine. Here is where you will be most of the time, for these first few weeks."

April sat down and ran her fingers over the keyboard in fascination. Dr. Hikari smiled, and then beckoned Lan and Chaud over.

"Why don't you jack Nocturne in, April? You can meet your co-workers together."

April tore her eyes away from the computer and looked at Nocturne. "Ready?"

"As always."

"Jack in, Nocturne, Power Up!"

The computer screen flickered to life and she could see Nocturne greeting two other Navis.

Dr. Hikari gently turned April's chair around so that she was facing the two boys. She stared, blinked, and then stood up. "My name's April. April Cossack."

Lan grabbed her hand and shook it firmly. "My name is Lan Hikari, and my NetNavi is Megaman." He grinned as she recognized his name. "And yeah…my dad's our boss. It's nice to meet you April."

She smiled, liking Lan instantly. His good attitude was infectious. "It's nice to meet you too."

Her eyes slid over his shoulder to the other boy. He was several inches taller than she was, wearing a loose fitting long sleeve black shirt with a red vest over it, pants that weren't exactly camo; with the most piercing blue eyes, and the most unusual hair cut—white bangs on top of a black underneath.

"Hello April." He whispered in a voice April thought she would never hear again.

"C-Chaud?" He nodded, and she threw herself into his arms. He looked surprised, but returned the embrace all the same.

"After moving out," she whispered to him, quiet enough so only he could hear, "I'd thought I'd never get to talk to you again…I'm so happy Chaud…"

He stroked her hair, glared over at Lan, who was pointing and sniggering, then whispered back to April, "My thoughts exactly."

After a moment, the two broke apart, and April turned to the screen. "And now to meet the better halves…" she smirked and Dr. Hikari laughed.

"Hello boys!" She said into the screen. "I'm April, Nocturne's operator."

The small blue Navi on Nocturne's right grinned and waved. "I'm Megaman. Nice to meet you April."

_He's just like his operator…_ April thought.

She turned to face the Navi on the left. "Long time, no see, Protoman."

He nodded. "Hello again, April."

Nocturne grinned. "Now that we're all acquainted, April, I suggest that you go organize your office so it doesn't end up looking like home."

April stuck her tongue out at him. "Very well. Please excuse us, then. Log out Nocturne."

She stood up and bowed to Dr. Hikari. "If we are all done here Doctor…?"

He waved her off. "Yes. Go take a bit to organize. I'll have plenty for you when you're ready."

She bowed again. "Thank you."

As she walked off to her office, she heard Lan whisper snidely to Chaud, "You were blushing! You can't deny that!"

"Shut up Hikari…" Chaud replied through clenched teeth. April silently giggled.

---

As soon as April had closed the door, Nocturne said aloud what she was thinking.

"You know that's the same Megaman and Lan that defeated and shared a double-soul with Bass."

"Of course I do!" April said as she put Nocturne in the PET stand and started unpacking her backpack. "Imagine what we could learn about Bass from him! Things that Grandpa didn't know about…perhaps even more about the Get-Ability Program I'm supposed to re-create…"

"April, shh! Someone's outside the door!"

A knock came right after he said that, and a voice floated through after that.

"April? May I come in?" asked Chaud.

"Of course."

The door inward, and Chaud stepped in, closing the door behind him. "Can I talk with you?"

"Sure. What is it?"

Chaud looked pointedly at the desk. "Alone, please?"

April rolled her eyes, but turned to Nocturne. "Nocturne, will you go to Scilab's mainframe and see if there's anything special you need to do to gain access to the system?"

Nocturne made a face, but disappeared from the PET.

April started to turn back to Chaud, but he grabbed her in a hug from behind. She melted in the embrace she remembered from so long ago.

_He's gotten stronger…_ she noted in the back of her mind.

"You know…I hadn't forgotten about you. There was no way to forget someone like you…"

April leaned her head against the base of his neck, breathing in deeply the smell that seemed to come from Chaud alone.

"After 3 years of being actively pushed away from you, I'm so relieved to find you safe and well." He hesitated, and turned April to face him. "May I…see what happened to your eye?"

She nodded, and let him brush aside her long fire-red bangs. April could see the pain in his eyes as he traced the metal around her face. "Oh April…I'm so…"

Gently, she placed a finger to his lips. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault. I don't mind so much anymore. Just love me as if I did have both my eyes."

He smiled and kissed her fingers. "I love you no matter what you look like. But," he tapped her forehead. "A warning. Don't let Lan get to your head. He will pester you endlessly. Just pound him down. He's just jealous that his girlfriend isn't as perfect as you are."

April laughed and squeezed him. "Totally untrue. But thank you all the same."

Chaud squeezed her back and kissed the top of her head.

"Oh yeah." He remembered. "Dr. Hikari would like to talk to you now, if you're done organizing."

They separated and April gestured around the room. "Remember what this looks like, 'cause you'll never see it this spotless again." They laughed, and he took her hand, opening the door for her.

"Hate to break the moment here, but shouldn't you take me along too April?"

"Sorry Nocturne." She grabbed him off the table and placed him in the pouch on her belt, facing toward Chaud's PET.

"Did I miss anything?" Nocturne whispered to Protoman.

He shook his head. "No. Just lovely-dovey stuff. I had no idea Chaud cared that much for April."

"Are you kidding? April can't stop talking about him! Glad I wasn't there now…"

"Well, aren't you just lucky?" Protoman murmured.

* * *

WOW!!!! 2 long chapters in 2 days! I'm proud of myself!

Did you all understand the part when Nocturne and April are talking on the train? If not, then that's what the next chapter is about.

Next time: April and Nocturne relive their history with Dr. Hikari, and he starts putting some puzzle pieces together. We'll also learn about a mission that Dr. Cossack left for his granddaughter to do.

Looking back… I realize that Chaud seems a little OOC. Does that seem weird? Him and April? (doges fangirl weapons) I CAN'T DIE YET!!! I'M TOO YOUNG!!

And don't worry, Bass will come in soon enough and Lan and Megaman will get a bigger role.

IT'S PAST MIDNIGHT AND I'M HIGH OFF M&M'S!!!!!! WEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Love me and review please…


	3. A Story… and A Lie

a/n: when April is telling her story, her words are in normal type, and Nocturne's comments are in _italics_.

Chapter 2

"A Story…and A Lie"

Chaud led April to a room across the lab. On the door was a small brass plaque with the words 'Dr. Yuichiro Hikari' emblazoned upon it.

Chaud looked over at April, and then squeezed her hand.

"Don't worry." He said, winking. "Dr. Hikari is nothing like his son. You can tell him anything. And I'm sure it's nothing serious. So don't worry."

"Who says I'm worried?" April replied boldly. Chaud smiled.

"I'll be out here in the lab when you're done." He said, and grinned reassuringly.

April returned the grin, and knocked on the door as Chaud walked away.

"Come in."

April opened the door and walked inside.

Dr. Hikari's office was much like her own, but bigger, with several screens and keyboards taking up most of the room. Dr. Hikari himself was standing at the window on the other side of the room, staring out at the view. Except for the quiet hum of the computers, the room was silent.

"Dr. Hikari?"

He was expecting it, but he still flinched a bit. "Ah, April. Thank you so much for coming to talk to me. Will you close the door please?"

April nodded and did so.

Dr. Hikari motioned to a chair. "Please, sit down." April did, and Dr. Hikari took the seat next to her. He rested his elbows on his knees and steepled his fingers, turning his intense stare onto April.

"I know that this may be somewhat…hard to tell to someone you just met, but will you be willing to tell me what happened to your grandfather? I am a friend, though not as close as my father was, and I've been wondering what has happened to him since the last I saw him."

"When was that, doctor?"

Dr. Hikari leaned back in his chair, scratching his head. "Probably…the day of the Alpha Revolt. Although that was in person, of course." He added quickly, seeing the shock on April's face. "I saw him plenty of times after that, on the news and such, but…you know how the media is…"

April laughed. She couldn't help but agree with him. "Let's see…where to start…"

---

(POV: April 1st person)

Grandpa Cossack gained guardianship of me when I was very small. About 2 or 3, I think. My parents had died in an accident, he told me. I was too young to remember their funeral.

I had as normal a childhood as anyone else. I grew, and started to go to school at Dentech Academy. I remember seeing Lan there, but I was never in the same class, and he was always too busy with other things to pay attention to a small quiet girl in the other class. I didn't mind. I too had things to concentrate on.

When I was in forth grade, my grandpa let me into his little study for the first time. It was here that he did all his mysterious work, creating programs for businesses and big companies. It was the place where all his greatest ideas took form and started to come to life. He allowed me to help him with some simple programs that needed repairs. I fell in love with it. Within several years, I was helping Grandpa with his big projects. These projects turned out to be very successful. So successful, that he lost work with some companies for helping out their rivals. There were even a couple of works of vandalism and virus attacks on his programs, but they were always easy to repair. We thought nothing of it.

Right before my sixteenth birthday, the president of Blaze Corp., Chaud's father, invited us to come and outfit his company with a better security system. Spies had been slowly leaking secret information, and he wanted it stopped. Grandpa accepted right away.

_That's when we first met Chaud._

Right…and I thought he was a stuck-up, pompous little rich boy!

Grandpa and I were staying at a little hotel next to Blaze Corp. It was closer than Blaze mansion, where Mr. Blaze asked us to stay. I think Grandpa said no because Chaud and I always got into the most heated of arguments! Heh heh…

Since this job was so huge, it took us several days to complete. We had just finished the last of the programming and we returned to the hotel. Grandpa and I were both excited at the success of our program, and the amount of money that it would bring in. In our excitement, we forgot to lock the door.

At sunset, right before we began to turn on all the lights, a strange man walked into our room. We didn't see him—our backs were turned away from the door.

We were lucky he was a bad shot. Otherwise, we would be dead.

A shot rang out and a bullet slammed into the wall over our heads. We whipped around and saw a man, wearing entirely black, and a mask covering his head.

"Who are you?" Grandpa yelled at him. "What do you think you're doing?"

While all this was going on, I whispered to Nocturne to go get some help. As he disappeared from the PET, the man yelled "Revenge!"

"Revenge for what you have done to me! Because you helped my rival rise to greatness with one stupid little program, I went out of business! My life's work was ruined! All because of YOU!!"

"Now calm down. Is revenge worth committing murder over?"

That was so like Grandpa. Trying to reason with a man who wanted him dead. I wished Nocturne would hurry up.

_By this time, I had alerted the Police! They were the slow ones!_

I know. I don't blame you.

"Enough!" the man yelled. "Time to end this!" He pointed the revolver at Grandpa. And I acted without thinking. I charged at the guy.

"NOOOO!!!!" I managed to push away his arm, and instead of hitting Grandpa's chest, the bullet went into his arm. He grunted in pain. The assassin turned the gun on me. "No! April!" Grandpa yelled.

The gun fired. Time seemed to slow down. I saw the bullet coming, and I tried to dodge, but I couldn't quickly enough. It hit me right on the corner of my eye, getting stuck right there and instantly knocking me out.

_Here's where I take over._

_I came back just as I saw April get hit. I froze. I couldn't say anything. I didn't know if she was dead or what._

_Dr. Cossack screamed. "YOU DEVIL!!! NOT MY GRANDDAUGHTER!!!"_

_With one arm useless, he charged the assassin, just like April had done. The man calmly leveled the gun and shot Dr. Cossack. But since he was such a horrible shot, he missed the doctor's heart and managed to put the bullet near his stomach, but away from any vitals._ _But the pain was too great for the old doctor, and he fainted, landing right next to April._

_"Well, that's that." The man said, and he turned to exit the room, only to find a squad of police officers. He just dropped the gun and held out his hands. "I've gotten my revenge. I don't care what happens next."_

_He was pulled out of the hotel room, and paramedics rushed in, quickly tending to April and Dr. Cossack. One of them remembered to grab me, and I sat next to April the whole time we were in the ambulance and into surgery._

_The doctors operated, removing the bullets from both of them. April's eye was wrapped and deemed useless. Dr. Cossack was also operated on, but he had to remain in intensive care, hooked up to all these monitors…it was horrible. April was luckier. She was young, and strong. She woke up a few hours later._

And my head hurt so bad…I wondered for a while why I couldn't see out of one eye, until Nocturne finally told me everything that happened. In the middle, a nurse came rushing into the room, telling me that Grandpa had woken up, and he was asking for me.

I went as quickly as I could, which wasn't very fast, because my head still hurt. I couldn't believe it when I finally saw him. Grandpa was hooked up to everything… the only sound in the room was the steady beeping of his heart rate and the other machines around him.

When I got over to the bed, he smiled, though it looked like it took every ounce of energy just to that simple little move.

"April…" he whispered. "Did they bring my briefcase?" I looked around and saw it resting on a table nearby. I nodded, unable to speak. "Bring it to me." I did.

He opened it, gritting his teeth in pain. He silently handed me papers to hold until the case was empty. He then did something to it, and a small compartment opened up in the bottom. Inside were two discs, each in their own case. He gave me both.

"Give the top one to the doctors. Tell them to follow this blueprint exactly and to install the program into it. The second disc is for you. Follow the instructions when you feel you are ready…" his voice faltered. "And tell no one else about what's on it…My time has not yet come, April. So do not worry about me." His hands dropped, and he fell asleep. I put the papers back in his briefcase and I was putting it back on the table when one of the instruments hooked up to Grandpa started beeping. A nurse rushed into the room.

"He's gone into a coma!" she cried, then noticed me. "Go back to your room please! Let the doctors handle it!" She shooed me out, and several doctors ran in.

Since I could do nothing, I trudged back to my room. Waiting inside was Chaud. He was talking to Nocturne, trying to get him to tell where I had gone. I went in, and collapsed on the bed, covering my good eye, and still clutching the two discs.

Chaud cleared his throat. "Both my father and I are sorry about what has happened. We feel partially responsible since this…injury happened on a job for us. We…" he turned red and cleared his throat again. "We were wondering if you would like to stay with us…that is, until you're old enough to find a place of your own."

I peeked at him under my arm. "When I've recovered from surgery, I'll come join you. I just need to get all my stuff and all Grandpa's things in order before I move in."

He nodded and backed out, looking relieved for an excuse to leave. "I guess I'll see you in a week, then. Good luck with your surgery."

---

April started tracing the metal plates again. "As you can see, the surgery was a success. It was nice to be able to see with both eyes again. Though I was sad that I couldn't have both eyes the same color."

"And your Grandfather?"

She looked at the floor. "Still in a coma." She looked up from the mug of hot chocolate that Dr. Hikari had given her halfway through the story. "I believe my grandpa, doctor, about what he said…that it wasn't his time to go. He's still fighting…and I hope he wins…" she added quietly. Dr. Hikari smiled kindly.

"I do too. I don't suppose you could tell me what was on that second disc?"

April took a sip of hot chocolate and shook her head. "No. I promised. Besides, I haven't looked at everything that's on that disc, so I couldn't tell you anything useful."

Dr. Hikari looked a little disappointed, but quickly regained his composure. "That's quite alright. I didn't expect you to." He stood up and put his empty coffee mug on his desk. "Thank you for telling me. That must've been hard to have to revisit all those memories."

April smiled and put her mug next to Dr. Hikari's. "It's okay. I actually feel kind of better having told someone."

Dr. Hikari grinned broadly and slapped her on the back.

"Now! Let's get you to work!" April groaned.

"Now there'll be no complaining in my lab!" Dr. Hikari chided. "And you'll enjoy this…that is," he added with a sly smile. "If you're as good as you say you are."

April puffed with indignation. "Of course I am!"

Dr. Hikari merely laughed again, and he led the way out into the lab. Despite the soft insult, April smiled.

"Let's see what the old man can throw at us."

Nocturne nodded. "Nothing's too hard for us! We can take whatever he can give!"

April's grinned widened, and she picked up her PET.

"And I can't believe how badly you lied to him, April."

She stopped and stared at Nocturne. "Well…I couldn't exactly tell him what was on the disc, now could I?"

The Navi nodded. "True, but you could've at lease told him that you know every centimeter of data that Dr. Cossack put on it."

"Then he would've been pressuring me to tell him! Or he might've gone through my stuff! We can't risk letting him find out about that second independent program! He would've deleted it for sure! And after all those years of hard work Grandpa went through with Bass only to have him leave, believing Grandpa to have betrayed him, and with the Alpha system destruction erasing most of the original data, I didn't want to have his work destroyed again! I promised him I would finish it, and I will, and I'll show it to him. I'll show him how successful the partner program is when he wakes up."

Nocturne sighed. "I agree, but I wish we didn't have to lie like that to someone so nice." April nodded. "I do too, believe you me."

She walked out into the lab, over to where Dr. Hikari was waiting.

"Time to earn our daily bread." She murmured.

"Too bad I don't get to eat any of it." Nocturne murmured back.

* * *

Yea!!! (Most of) April's story is out!!!! Few!!! This chapter took several days to pull out of my head, what with the oneshot interrupting it and all….heh heh… if that oneshot hadn't come out, there would've been _a lot_ more fluff in this chapter…and this chapter doesn't really call for that…yeah…

I listen to lots of music while I write. Some times, it gives me inspiration…yeah…is that weird? For this chapter, there were 3 main songs: 'Welcome to the Black Parade' by My Chemical Romance; 'Papercut' by Linkin Park; and the theme from the Transformers movie (I don't know what it's called or who it's by…I can't remember!)(but it's a good song… ). Weird, I know…I don't seem like to kind of person who listens to that kind of music, but I like it.

Next chapter: April is working on the project her grandfather left her, but she decides she needs to know more. So she challenges Lan to a NetBattle in order to learn more about his fighting style and in order to find out something else…you'll have to read to find out!! Heh heh…I'm evil…

Hey Erin!! Guess what!!!!

BASS SHOWS UP SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Inside joke with my cousin, don't worry about it.)

Love me and review please.


	4. A NetBattle… and the 4 Vital Parts

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 3

"A NetBattle… and the 4 Vital Parts"

Several weeks have passed since April started working. She and Dr. Hikari talked often, but they never touched on the same topic as they did that first day. April felt no need to dwell on the past, though she caught Dr. Hikari looking at her with the most peculiar look. It was as though he was seeing her grandfather in her, especially when she was working. April choose to ignore it. She kept her mind on her work instead.

And it wasn't hard, at first. As the weeks progressed, Dr. Hikari gave her more and more challenging tasks, until Dr. Hikari allowed her to work on her own projects in the privacy of her office. He still gave her other things to do, but they were quick and easy things that forced her to socialize with others working in Scilab. April didn't mind this, but she hated being interrupted in the middle of her work.

One day, April sat in her tiny office, leaning back in her chair, staring intently at the monitor on the wall. Curtains were covering the windows; the light of the monitor was the only thing in the room. Colors flashed over her face, and her metal plates glinted in the darkness.

April shifted in her seat, her eyes following the action on the screen.

"Stop!" She yelled suddenly. Nocturne obliged, and the image of Megaman and Bass during their fight on the S.S. Queen Ocean froze. She leaned forward in her chair. "Zoom in, please." The camera closed into Bass, his arms spread wide, and Megaman, as Hub-Style, making contact on Bass' chest. "Zoom in on the impact, please." Megaman's fist filled the screen. All around it was the white glare of the impact. "Can you remove the glare?"

"Are viruses annoying?"

As the glare gradually disappeared, April leaned close enough to the screen to see the pixels, and as it disappeared completly, she gasped. Megaman's fingers were reaching _into_ Bass's chest… and the tips were defragmenting…meaning… "That's his Get-Ability Program activating…Megaman was probably too wrapped up in the battle to notice…and he probably healed that right away…and yet…Bass was able to copy the Hub-Style with that small amount of data?" April leaned back in her chair and ran her fingers through her hair. "How did you do it, Grandpa?" She murmured to the ceiling. "How am I supposed to copy a power this awesome? Why does it have to a primary piece in her programming?" She yelled in frustration, yanking at her hair

"April?" She looked over at Nocturne, standing on the screen in front of the still shot of Megaman and Bass. "Doesn't that hurt?" He asked, pointing at her head. She pulled her hands out of her hair and started smoothing it back down. "Only a little. I don't pull very hard." She admitted.

Nocturne shook his head. "Sometimes, I just don't understand you."

"Thanks." April replied sarcastically. "Will you put that video back where it belongs?"

Megaman and Bass disappeared from the screen, and only Nocturne remained, standing against a blue background. "Oh yeah." He said. "Lan wanted to know if you wanted to join him and Chaud for lunch." April perked up at the mention of food. "He'll be waiting for you in the lobby at noon." She glanced at the clock. It was 3 minutes till noon.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!" She cried, grabbing her backpack and her PET.

"You were working." Nocturne replied from the small screen. "You specifically told me not to bother you unless it was important information."

"Lunch _is_ important!" April jabbed the elevator button, trying to make it come faster. It never worked, but she couldn't help it.

In the elevator, she also pushed the button marked 'L' for lobby several times per second. "Go…faster…"

"April…I've been thinking…"

She didn't take her eyes off the numbers as they slowly passed from level to level. _23…22…21_ "About what?"

He took a deep breath, like a diver before taking the plunge. "We need to get more information about Bass. Aside from Dr. Cossack, Lan and Megaman are probably the ones that know him best. We should ask them about him…I was thinking we could also challenge them to a NetBattle. I don't know about you, but I want to see what it is about them that defeated Bass."

April looked sharply down at her PET, and she stopped pushing the button. "You…want to…NetBattle?" She croaked out. "We haven't battled since my operation! Why should we start back up?"

"Information collecting. And it's just fun. You'll regain your touch in no time at all."

Nocturne was spared April's retort with a _ding_ and the elevator doors opening up to the lobby. April stepped out and waved. "Hey guys!"

Lan waved back. "We thought you'd never make it!" He said as April walked up to them "Now that we're all here, let's go!"

They took the train out of Scilab into DenTech City, and they headed for the nearest restaurant, chatting about nothing in particular.

They sat at their normal table at Noodles 'N Burgers and ordered their usual: April got ramen with chicken and some fries, Chaud got a BLT, and Lan ordered the extra large cheeseburger with bacon and no mayo.

While they were eating, April kept thinking about what Nocturne had said earlier, in the elevator.

He was right; she _did_ miss NetBattling. She had always been too busy, either with work or school, and she had never gotten back around to battling when her schedule cleared up after she graduated.

_All right. I'll do it. And who knows…I might find out something useful after all…_

When they had finished and paid for their meal, the three walked out of Noodles 'N Burgers. April took the lead and started heading for the arcade. "Hurry up, slowpokes!" She called to the two boys. They looked at each other, shrugged, and ran to catch up.

Once inside, April took a deep breath. _It's good to be back._ She thought, while looking for an open arena. She located one, ran to it, and then whirled around to face Lan and Chaud. "So, which of you boys is going to battle me and Nocturne?"

Chaud looked completely taken aback. Lan, however, pulled out his PET.

"Megaman and I are always ready to NetBattle!" As he jacked in, lights around the arena turned on, and hologram projectors showed a life-sized image of Megaman.

April walked around to the opposite side, pulling a box of battle chips out of her backpack. "Ya ready, Nocturne?" He jumped up and pumped his fists. "I've been ready for years! Let's go!"

April jacked in Nocturne, and a hologram of him showed up next to Megaman's. A small crowd of people started to gather around the edge of the arena.

Chaud sighed. "I guess there's no stopping them…"

A loud buzzer sounded, and the words 'Battle Start' flashed above everyone's head.

"Go for it, Megaman!"

"Let's show him our stuff Nocturne!"

The two Navis leapt at each other, and the battle was on.

They punched and kicked, each barely managing to miss the other. Faster and faster they went, zooming around the arena and drawing an even bigger crowd. Nocturne leapt again, and Megaman ducked, sending the other Navi flying over his head.

"WAHHHHH!!!" He landed face first on the ground. April and the crowd cringed. "Nocturne! Take this!" April inserted a battle chip in her PET. "Mettaur Virus 2! And an Omega Cannon! Download!"

A hole opened up in the ground and two little black viruses, carrying pickaxes and wearing hardhats jumped out. They hit the ground with their axes, and two shockwaves fired at Megaman. He jumped and turned towards Nocturne. "Is that the best—"

BOOM!!!!

Nocturne fired off his cannon and Megaman caught the blast full on. "Is that the best you've got?" He retorted.

"It most defiantly is not!" Lan shouted. "Megaman! Full-Synchro!"

April chuckled as a light surrounded Lan and a breeze came from nowhere to ruffle his hair. "Two can play at that game. Full-Synchro Nocturne!"

The same light and breeze surrounded April, and the two Net-Op's were frozen, staring intently at each other.

On the battlefield, the Navi's speed and ferocity of attacks increased. Several hits connected, and the damage showed on the Net-Op as they received cuts and bruises seemingly from nowhere.

April smirked over at Lan. "Ready to finish this?"

"You bet!"

They each pulled out a battle chip and inserted it at the same time. "Cyber Sword! Download!"

Megaman and Nocturne's right arms changed shape and formed a shining sword: Megaman's was blue and Nocturne's was purple.

They leapt at each other again, and more cuts appeared on the Net-Op's bodies.

On the battlefield, Megaman and Nocturne were swinging, stabbing and blocking for all they were worth. Nocturne jumped into the air. "It's done, Megaman!" As gravity took over and Nocturne started falling, he pointed his sword down, straight towards Megaman. He gained speed and landed hard, throwing up a huge cloud of dust and lodging the Cyber Sword firmly into the ground. His eyes were wide and he twisted around, trying to free his sword and find Megaman at the same time. He felt something sharp against his neck. Megaman was standing there, holding his blue saber to the other Navi's throat. "It is over…" he whispered. "Your Full-Synchro is gone, and your only weapon is useless."

The smoke cleared, and April stared up at her Navi. "Oh, Nocturne…"

The black Navi smirked but still bowed his head. "I concede."

The buzzer rang again, and the words "Battle Over" flashed over everyone's heads. The crowd dispersed, talking excitedly about what they had just seen. Chaud stood still, arms folded, letting others maneuver their way around him. April had jacked out and was slowly making her way down to where he was, pressing buttons on her PET.

"We'll fix you up, Nocturne don't worry. All we got was a few scratches."

"Why didn't we keep Full-Synchro?"

April made a small waving motion with her hand, as though physically brushing the question aside. "That was my fault. I'm sorry. I became so excited when I saw you two fighting and I realized that Lan and Megaman must've felt the same way I did when they were fighting Bass. I got excited…and distracted. Sorry. We were pretty close to."

Lan came up behind her and patted her on the shoulder. "You were. We barely dodged that last attack. Good battle." He held out his hand and April took it.

"You too. Now I can see how you were able to defeat Bass…Well…since our lunch hour is well up, shall we get going?"

Lan looked at his watch and jumped. "Dad's gonna kill us!" he exclaimed, and ran out of the arcade at top speed. April and Chaud laughed and jogged behind catching up with Lan at the subway station for the train that wouldn't come for 5 more minutes.

While Lan and Chaud were waiting, talking about all the kinds of work Dr. Hikari had in store for them, April and Nocturne were arguing a ways off.

"Just ask him." Nocturne was saying. "And if he asks why, just tell him you wanted to know more because your grandfather didn't tell you a whole lot about him. Look. The train ride is 17 minutes. I bet you could get at least one useful fact during that time if you ask him right as you get on."

"Fine." April said, as the train arrived. She got on first, grabbing Lan and Chaud's arms and pulling them all the way to the back, where no one was sitting. The doors closed with a gentle _swish_, and the train started gliding towards Scilab.

April pulled Chaud and Lan into a seat, then sat down opposite them. "Sorry about the rough handling boys, but we need to talk privately." She glanced down at her PET, and Nocturne gestured impatiently for her to go on.

"I want to know what you know about the Navi named Bass."

Lan spoke up at once. "The first time we met him, I remember it was a complete disaster. He struck Megaman and me down with barely a flick of his wrist. The next time we met, we had gained control of the Hub-Style—"

"Control?" Chaud laughed. "Yeah right. You nearly deleted Protoman before you were able to think straight, let alone control the Hub-Style."

Lan shrugged, letting the comment pass. "Whatever. During that fight, Bass also gained the ability to control Hub-Style. We had our butts handed to us before we finally stopped him. We next saw him when the Dark Power had combined the real world and the Cyber World. Bass had absorbed the power of Serenade, Lord of the Undernet, and Megaman and I were able to defeat him by sharing a double soul with Chaud and Protoman. That, too, was a very difficult battle, and it was after that, that Bass promised that he would be the one to bring us down."

"The wish for a perfect rival filled the gap that the betrayal of Scilab had left…" April murmured. She leaned back in the seat, staring at the ceiling; ideas swirling and taking form in her mind. _But when that perfect rival is gone…he'll need a perfect partner that was meant to be with him from the beginning…I understand the 'why' now Grandpa…it's the 'how' I'm concerned with now…_

"April, we're here." Chaud said. "Are you okay?"

She stood up next to him, her eyes still slightly unfocused as ideas kept coming together. "I'm alright. Just thinking…"

The train stopped and they got off, hurrying to reach the Silver Tower. When they got there, they ran up the stairs from the thirtieth floor up—the elevator was taking too long. They finally got up the level 50 and, each breathing hard, walked into the lab. An _empty_ lab. On the screen right in front of them was a message from Dr. Hikari.

_Went to lunch. I'll be back at 2. Dr. Hikari._

As one, the three looked at their watches, and moaned in disbelief. It was only one o' clock!

"Well…that sucks…" April said. She sighed and walked back into her office. "If Dr. Hikari needs me when he gets back, I'll be in my office." She walked in and slammed the door.

"You're scheming, I can tell." Nocturne said as she placed him back on the PET holder. "I hate to say it, but I told you that you would find out something useful."

"Shut it." April replied, opening a small pocket in her backpack and pulling out a disc. She inserted it in the computer next to her PET and sat down in her chair, rolling across to the big screen. Nocturne appeared in the corner, but a big window opened up, taking up most of the screen. Lines of text scrolled up, and April typed a command on her keyboard. Several lines were pulled away from the main group and were magnified. She kept typing and the lines fell apart, forming a different shape.

"This is her frame." April explained to Nocturne. "Once this is done, I'll put in her different programs, and she'll almost be complete."

"Almost?"

April rolled her eyes at the Navi standing in the corner of the screen. "You read Grandpa's directions. Before she can be fully compete, she needs 4 things, remember?"

"The Get-Ability Program, data from a female mind, data from her partner, and a name."

"Right! You were paying attention! I'm collecting data from myself using the data card installed in my eye. And the name comes last. But there are still two other vital parts. And that's where you come in. In order to re-construct the Get-Ability Program, we first need to see if there's any data about it stored away here at Scilab, since it was first created here. If that fails, we need to get the data from the one other source where it exists."

"From Bass?!"

"None other. We already need a short data strand from him anyways, as the data for the partner. While we're…you're getting that, all you have to do is find one little piece of data from this programming. From what Grandpa and Lan have told me, I believe this program is a great part of Bass's programming. It shouldn't be hard to find. All we need to do is find him, and get the data before he deletes you."

Nocturne slumped in the corner. "Thanks for the confidence booster."

"No problem." April said, still typing away. "Like I said, the hardest part will be finding him. After that, I have a special little program I've been working on just for you. Will you let me install it in you?"

Nocturne leaned against the edge of the screen, watching April pull out more lines of programming, and as the shape of a female Navi started to take place. He wondered what on Cyber Earth April could've created for him, and how useful it would be against someone as powerful as Bass. He shrugged. "I trust you April. Just tell me what to do."

April smiled and looked over at him, but she kept typing. "Great. Thanks. I just need to tweak a few things and it'll be done. Then we can test it…" she added with an evil laugh.

Nocturne shuddered a bit. He _hated_ it when April laughed like that… "And who will be the poor guinea pig?"

"Megaman and Protoman…" she snickered. He cringed. "Boy, do I feel bad for them…"

* * *

HAHA!!! I feel bad for them too, but that's cuz I know what's gonna happen… muahahahahahahahaha….evil laughter…

I apologize for the badly written fight scene. That's my one weakness as a writer, and it makes me ANGRY!!! Rarh… fear me…

Music for this chapter!! 'It's My Life' – Bon Jovi; 'Knight of Fire' – Initial D; and 'Mr. Roboto' – Styx. (why am I telling you this? I don't know…) 

I wish there really was a place called Burgers N' Noodles… I'd eat there all the time… mmmm….French fries…

Next time: April and Nocturne test their new program on a double soul of Megaman and Protoman! Chaos ensues! Wheeee!!!! You will laugh!

Oh, and if you want to read about Megaman and Bass' fights: the first one is in vols. 3-5, the second in vols. 6-7, and the double soul in vol. 11. The Hub-Style first appears in vol. 4. But I recommend you read all the books, not just these ones. You'll get sooooo confused…

Love me and review please.


	5. A DoubleSoul & an Unexpected Opportunity

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 4

"A Double Soul…and an Unexpected Opportunity"

"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, pleeeeeaaassssseeee?"

Nocturne and April, shown on the screen floating next to him, had their heads bowed and their hands clasped in front of their faces, begging.

April, Chaud, Lan, and their Navis were all back at home. They had gathered in a private chat room after work. The topic of conversation had turned to the Double Soul; and April and Nocturne were both begging to see it. Megaman and Protoman were hesitant because they saw no reason to.

"Aw, you guys! Please? With a cherry on top?" April begged, glancing up at Megaman and Protoman. They were giving her strange looks. "Please? I would like to see one of the forms that defeated Bass! And collect some data! Aw, come on… I need it to help me with what I'm working on! Please!"

Chaud smiled slightly. "You won't shut up until you see it, right?"

April nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly!"

Lan covered his face with a hand. "Just do it. I'm getting tired of her begging…" Megaman sighed and looked over at Protoman. "Ya ready?"

Protoman glanced over at Chaud. "Chaud, sir?"

"If it shuts her up, then go for it."

Protoman nodded to Megaman, and a bight white light surrounded them. Watching closely, through squinted eyes, April was able to see something flow out of Protoman into Megaman. Protoman slowly collapsed, and the light began to fade. Megaman was still standing, but his form had changed. His colors had become red and white, his hair had grown as long as Protoman's and turned purple. On his left arm, he had a little shield, and a red Cyber Sword on his right. He had lime green goggles, like Protoman's covering his eyes, but his Navi mark remained the same. Protoman was lying on the ground, deathly white and not moving. Megaman opened his eyes and looked over at Nocturne and April.

"Are you happy now?" Even his voice was a combination of the two.

April broke into a big grin. "Great! Hold on a sec…" she turned to the side and started typing on a keyboard. With a final stroke, she turned back to them and said the most outrageous thing: "Megaman, will you attack Nocturne, please?"

Lan and Megaman's jaws dropped. "Wha—?"

"Don't worry if you make contact. I just need to collect some data, that's all. Now, give it your best. Nocturne knows what to do."

Megaman looked over at Lan. Lan shrugged. Megaman shrugged back, then turned and leapt. Nocturne jumped back, and missed by a hair. Megaman kept jumping forward and attacking, and would miss Nocturne by a fraction of an inch, sometimes connecting, sending Nocturne flying across the ground.

April was back to typing, but she kept an eye on the battle. _Wait for it… Wait for it…_ "Okay, Nocturne. Now!"

Nocturne stopped and held his hand out to Megaman, palm facing outward. "Data freeze!" he yelled, and a shockwave erupted from his hand and enveloped Megaman. He froze mid-swing, right in front of Nocturne and became slightly transparent. Everyone could now see the lines of type and binary code swirling under Megaman's skin. Lan gasped. "YES!!" April pumped the air with her fists.

Nocturne walked forward and reached out his hand. He reached _right through_ Megaman into the programming beneath. He rummaged around for a bit, and then found what he was looking for. "Aha!" He said, pulling out a tiny strand of numbers. Megaman's right arm disappeared. "Can I borrow this for a bit?" He asked.

"It works! It works!!" April was dancing around her apartment, waving her arms above her head. Nocturne grinned also, then put the type back inside Megaman, causing his arm to reappear. "Release." He muttered, and Megaman became solid again, unfroze, and dropped face-first into the ground. A white light surrounded him again, and his form returned to normal.

"What on Cyber Earth was that?!" yelled Megaman and Protoman at the same time; both leaping up to stare down Nocturne.

"You'll have to ask April." He said, pointing over to where she was still dancing. "I just did what I was told."

The screens with Chaud and Lan on them swarmed over to April. "What did you do to Megaman?!" Lan yelled into her screen. She turned around and finally sat down and looked over the other screens. "Is your arm alright Megaman?"

He moved it around, swung it in circles, and then punched Nocturne who yelped and collapsed. "Yep. It's fine."

April turned back to Chaud and Lan. "That, gentlemen, was the program I've been spending weeks on. It renders any Navi hit by the shockwave completely immobile, and it reveals their programming, allowing the user access to basically do whatever they please. Remove data, copy it, replace it, etcetera. Nocturne could've put your head where your arm was, Megaman, and reattach your sword on your leg. But, as you can see," she gestured over to Nocturne who was laying on the ground, sweating heavily and taking in deep gulps of air. "It takes a lot of energy to use, and it takes a while for the user to recover after using it. Especially on one as powerful as Proto-soul Megaman. But," she added with a huge smile. "I can now report a success! Thanks for being my test subjects, you guys."

"No problem." Megaman said.

"But don't make us your test subjects again." Protoman added.

April grinned sheepishly and started rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry. But seriously. Thanks for doing this. It means a lot to me." _You don't know how much…_

Unbeknownst to our heroes, (a/n: YEA!!! cheesyness!) this entire exchange had not gone unnoticed by a third party. While the three talked about April's new program, a black Navi-shaped shadow smirked, and quietly slipped away.

---

Later that night, April walked into the hospital with a fresh bouquet of flowers in her hand. She waved to the nurse on duty in the lobby, and walked up the stairs to the second floor. She walked all the way down to the end of the hall, stopping at the door next to the operating room. Next to the door was a nameplate that was old and worn, suggesting that the occupant had been there for a long time. The nameplate read: Mr. Cossack.

April opened the door and stepped inside. "Hi Grandpa. I brought you some fresh flowers."

She replaced dried flowers in a vase next to the bed with the bouquet she had brought in. She threw the dead flowers in the rubbish bin, then snagged a chair and pulled it up to the bed.

The machines around Dr. Cossack beeped and hummed, performing their routine inspection of the patient. The monitor showing his heart rate beeped steadily.

April stared into her grandfather's face. His eyes were closed, and he looked peaceful, as if he was just sleeping. But April knew that to be untrue. She sat there for a bit, just watching his comatose form lay there. Finally, she spoke out loud.

"I figured it out, Grandpa. Well, part of it, anyways. I'm close to completing her programming. I've developed a program I installed into Nocturne that allows him to take data out of a Navi, copy it, and put it back. In your instructions, you said I will be able to use a copy." She smiled faintly. "I'm holding ya to it, Grandpa. I've even thought of a name for her. I know you said to do the naming last, but it just popped up into my head while I was creating her frame." She looked carefully around the room, then leaned in and whispered in the old man's ear. "Her name's going to be Requiem." She leaned back in her chair, staring at the monitor that displayed Dr. Cossack's heartbeat. "Do you like it?"

A face flickered onto the screen, and April jumped. It was gone a moment later, but she had heard enough about it to recognize it. She jumped out of her chair, sending it crashing behind her. "Jack in, Nocturne!"

Dr. Cossack's heartbeat was pushed into a corner as the face appeared again on the screen. April froze, unable to pull her gaze away from his red eyes. "I've heard a lot about you from my grandfather," she started, trying to speak calmly and hold his gaze. "I've been looking forward to the day when I could finally meet you…Bass."

He didn't even blink, instead, he looked over to the old man lying motionless on the bed. "And why would that be?" he asked softly, not taking his eyes off Dr. Cossack.

April took a deep breath before letting everything spill out. "I need to copy some of your data. Will you let me?"

Bass' eyes snapped back onto her. "What?" he said menacingly. "Copy… _my_… data? No human has ever managed to get anything from me. Why should I start with you?"

"Because you obeyed him, your creator," April pointed to her grandfather. "And I'm his granddaughter. Do I get the same rights as him?"

Bass threw back his head and laughed, letting the camera zoom out, showing his entire body, and the area around him. "He lost _his_ 'rights' the moment he betrayed me to Scilab!" Bass snarled. "Why should I ever let any _human_," he spat out the word with complete contempt, as though it were a nasty bug. "Gain any amount of control over me?"

April nodded. "Because I can force my control on you."

Bass had hardly any time to look surprised before the data freeze shock wave enveloped him and he froze, turning transparent. His data ran wild, glowing red, twisting and turning, as though trying to undo the freeze.

"Better get that data and copy it now, Nocturne." April walked close to the screen, staring at Bass' data and starting to worry. "I don't know how long the data freeze can hold him."

Nocturne nodded, and two little blank data square appeared in front of him. He reached both arms inside Bass, and started searching, finally pulling out two different strands; one in each hand. In his left, he held a small strand of yellow shapes. Grasped tightly in his right had was an angry red strand, squirming and trying to escape. Bass's data swirled ever faster.

"Hurry Nocturne!"

He laid the strands on the data squares, and they glowed for a bit, copying the data presented to them. They stopped glowing, and Nocturne returned the originals back inside Bass.

"Good job Nocturne. Log out."

The moment Nocturne logged out, there was a crashing sound, like glass breaking, and Bass wrenched himself free of the data freeze. He glared at April with murderous eyes, skewering her with his gaze alone. "How…you…grra…" he was so angry, he couldn't get out the proper words.

"Thanks Bass." April gave him a thumbs-up and winked. "You'll thank me eventually. It's for the greater good."

"HUMAN!! YOU WILL DIE!!! I'LL SEE TO IT!!!"

April started walking out of the room. "I guess I'll be seeing you later then." She left, and the door closed with a soft click.

Bass forced his rage to subside. He needed to find the girl first. It wouldn't be hard at all. He turned his attention away from where she had just exited and focused again on the doctor lying on the bed.

"What did you tell her to do, Doctor?"

He smirked and turned away, walking away from the hospital, letting the monitor go back to normal.

_Whatever it is, I will survive and become stronger from it. Like I have done ever since that day…_

* * *

See! Mass chaos!!! Kinda… yeah… well… ahem…

The scene with Bass and April was fun to write. My new favorite line of all time from fanfiction is now when he says: "HUMAN!! YOU WILL DIE!!!" and I've read some pretty great lines…

MUSIC for this chapter: 'I'm Your Little Butterfly' – Ayumi Hamasaki; 'Holiday' – Green Day; The music from the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess trailer. (wow…that's a random list…)

HURRAH FOR CHOCOLATE!!!!!! IT INSPIRES ME!!!!!!

And please help me. I just went and registered for school…No…I cry…T-T

OH!! And did you all get the hint about who was watching our heroes as they chatted? Muahahahahaha… I'm so evil… -

I think this is the shortest chapter so far…I just threw a ton of info at you readers…I'm sorry… T-T it just all came out…I couldn't control it…

Next time!!!! Wheeee!!!

April and Nocturne have a big discussion as April loads the data from Bass and tries to copy the Get-Ability program from what Nocturne was able to get. The trouble is, Lan and Chaud are each developing their own suspicions about why April is so obsessed with Bass and with working alone in her office with the door locked….

Muahahahahaha…..

Love me and review please.


	6. A Copy… and Suspicions Aroused

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 5

"A Copy…and Suspicions Aroused"

April sat alone on the train, clad in her signature black lab coat and pushing buttons on her PET.

"Well, your energy levels are back to normal." She said. "How do you feel? I can give you the day off again if you need it."

Nocturne stretched, then shook his head. "Nah. We already had a close one when Dr. Hikari asked what was wrong with me. I don't think we could do it a second day. Besides," he added with a grin and a thumbs-up. "I feel fine. I'll help you with her programming today."

April sighed and leaned back in her seat, staring up at the ceiling. This was becoming a habit as of late. "Hopefully, Dr. Hikari will give us some time to work independently. Having to program all those firewalls yesterday was _boring,_ mindless, busy work." The train started slowing down, and April stood up, fighting inertia to maneuver over to the door. "But, I think he will, since you're back online today."

Nocturne hung his head. "Sorry to cause so much trouble."

"Don't be." April said instantly. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have made you use the data freeze again so soon when your energy had already been drained from it once. But when I saw Bass on that monitor…I couldn't believe our luck. I didn't know if we would see him again, and if the data freeze would actually work." She shook her head and the train stopped; and she walked off with the rest of the passengers. "I'm surprised it worked as long as it did. You're lucky he broke it right as you were logging out, otherwise, he would've deleted you…" she suppressed a shiver. "And that would've been bad."

Nocturne nodded. "We've had quite a stroke of good luck April. I'm getting this feeling that something bad is going to happen, and soon."

April looked down at him in surprise and started punching the elevator button. "You too, huh? Great…just great…" she turned back to the elevator and started murmuring her daily cadence of "Go faster…"

---

(Point-of-View: Lan Hikari, 3rd person)

"Lan…this wasn't what I was talking about when I said we should ask what April is doing always locked in her office."

Lan stood in the doorway to April's office, looking around the darkened area. "Think of it this way, Megaman." He walked in, slipping slightly on papers that were on the ground and looking for a good place to hide. "Since April hasn't told us anything about what she's doing, I'm assuming that she might be slightly embarrassed to talk about it. This way, I'm doing us both a favor. I'm satisfying my curiosity, and April doesn't have to talk."

"Why would she be embarrassed?"

"I don't know!" Lan snapped back. "But it's better than saying I'm spying on her, right?"

Megaman shrugged. "I don't know. But that's exactly what you're doing, isn't it?"

"You're not helping!"

---

(Point-of-View: Chaud Blaze, 3rd person)

"I don't know, Chaud. I don't think this is the best idea."

Chaud sat in his own little office, leaning back in his chair with his feet on the desk, talking to Protoman. "Of course it's not." Chaud replied. "But I'm worried about her. While that 'data freeze' program is a good cover-up, I don't think that's _all_ that April's been working on. She doesn't talk at all about what she's doing, and I'm worried. I just…"

"You just don't want it to be illegal, right?" Protoman finished with a slight smile. "Because it would be your duty, as a Net Agent, to place her under arrest—and you care about her too much to do that. Am I correct?"

"Spot on." Chaud said with a hint of relief at not having to speak out loud the unpleasant option himself.

"Even so, shouldn't we just ask her outright?"

Chaud sighed. "As much as this would tarnish my perfect vision of her, she could lie to us. All you have to do is just keep the link open between the PET and her computer, and stay out of sight."

Protoman bowed his head. "I still don't like having to spy on someone you care about, but, as you wish, Chaud sir."

Chaud stood up. "I like it even less than you, but it's a necessary evil, my friend. I'll come get you when the time comes." With that, he walked out the door.

---

(The point of view for this section is going to change often, but it will always stay in 3rd person.)

April stepped off the elevator and nearly ran into Dr. Hikari, whose arms were full of papers and many different colored discs.

"Ah, there you are, April." He said, adjusting his glasses with the back of his hand and sticking his foot in the door of the elevator to keep it from closing and moving away. "I don't have anything for you today. I'm going to be in meetings almost all day," he pulled a face and April giggled. "So feel free to work on what ever you want."

April had to try hard to stop herself from jumping up and down. "Okay. Thanks Dr. Hikari. Have fun in your meetings." He groaned and stepped in the elevator, pushed a button, and dropped all his papers and discs.

April laughed at his languished cry as the door closed. She paused, and then heard the faint _ding_ of the elevator reaching the next floor.

"What luck!!" She yelled, jumping in the air. "This is perfect!"

"A little too perfect…" Nocturne muttered ominously as she walked into the lab.

"Oh, don't be so negative." April replied. "It just might turn out to be a good day after all." She spotted Chaud sitting at his computer in the main lab. "Chaud!" She squealed, and then tackled him from behind.

"Hey, April…" he said through a mouthful of keyboard, though it sounded more like: "Fea, Abele…"

"Can you get off me please?"

"Ah, sorry." April said as she backed off him. He sat up, and then rubbed his cheek where the lines from the keyboard had been printed in. "Ahh…I can breathe again." April blushed. Chaud smiled and stood up. "You look cute when you blush." He pinched her cheek and she went even redder.

"Did Dr. Hikari find you?"

"Yeah. I'm glad I don't have to do anymore mindless programming again today. I thought the day would _never_ end." She grinned and started backing away towards her office. "I'll see you at lunch, 'kay?"

Chaud nodded. "Okay."

"Lan! She's coming! You'd better hide!" Megaman whispered.

Lan glanced around in desperation. He dove behind the curtain, squishing himself as close to the wall as he could.

The door opened and shut. There was the soft _click_ as April locked the door, like always. Then April's voice floated over to them. "Log in, Nocturne."

"She'll be logged in by now. Ready Protoman?" Chaud asked.

He nodded. "I'm always ready, Chaud."

"Then go. And stay well hidden."

Protoman nodded, then disappeared from the PET.

April turned towards the window, and then grabbed the edges of the curtains. "Let's have some light today!" She said, then threw the windows open.

"Ouch!" April grabbed the side of her hand. "Dang it! I always think the window is bigger than it is! This is the second time this month I've hit that wall!"

Behind the curtain, Lan sat rubbing the newly formed lump on his head. _Man, she can throw a punch…_ he thought.

Protoman stood in a shadowy corner of April's computer. He silently opened a screen next to him. Now Chaud could see what ever what April was working on through his PET.

"Are you alright April?" Nocturne asked. She sat, rubbing her hand. "Yeah. I'll be fine. It'll stop hurting in a minute. But we can't waste any time," she pulled out the disc from her pocket.

Lan peeked around the edge of the curtain in time to see April pull a disc out of her pocket. "Let's get started." She said, loading it into the computer.

Chaud leaned in close to the PET. "What did she just do Protoman?"

"She loaded a disc she had been carrying on her person. It's opening right now. Can you see it?"

In the computer space, a black window had just opened.

"Yes, I can see ju—is that a Navi frame?"

April pulled out the frame and typed quickly, adding a couple of lines and removing some.

"Why is she building a Navi frame?" Megaman whispered. Lan had pulled him around the corner of the curtain also, so he could see.

In response to the question, Lan shrugged. "Dunno. But why wouldn't she want to tell us about it?"

Unawares of what was going on around her, April typed the final keystroke, and the frame was complete.

The frame was a female shape. Since no data had been added yet, it was a uniform color gray. It floated there, waiting to receive data.

"I took the idea of her look from Bass." April looked over at Nocturne. "Can you tell?"

The frame had the same 'bat-eared' helmet as Bass, but instead of the points reaching up, they leveled off at the top. Instead of the four-pointed star on her forehead, she had only three points. She had long hair that reached to her waist. Around her wrists and coming up from her knees she had little extensions that looked like fins, like what Bass had, with rings floating above the pointy ends. On her arms and legs she had two wide stripes that were connected with other thinner lines to where her Navi mark was. Since there was no data yet, her Navi mark was blank.

Chaud stared at his PET screen. "What is she creating that for?"

Nocturne stared. "She looks…nice, April. You did a good job. But…is she going to have any color?"

April laughed. "Of course, silly. Let me just insert the rest of the programs Grandpa put on here…" she did so, and color swarmed onto the frame. She was mostly black; her stripes and lines were a dark blood red. The three-pointed star was a shiny and darkened teal, and her rings and little fin-like extensions were yellow. The hair that fell down her back was the same red as her stripes. Her eyes were still closed, so they couldn't see what color they were.

Lan and Megaman gasped, quietly, at the same time.

"That Navi looks like a…a…" Lan quietly stammered.

"Feminine version of Bass…" Megaman finished, in awe.

Chaud almost fell out of his chair in surprise. "What is your reasoning for this April? What are you hoping to accomplish?"

April stared at the slowly rotating, almost complete, Navi. "Do you think this is what Grandpa saw when he thought of her?" She asked Nocturne.

He was still staring at The Navi before him, but he shrugged. "You'll have to ask him when he wakes up." She nodded, absentmindedly, staring at what she had just created. With an effort, she pulled herself back to the present. "Nocturne, do you have the copies of that data?" He didn't hear her.

"Data you took from another Navi using the data freeze?" Chaud wondered out loud.

"Nocturne…"

"Could it be data she took from another Navi?" Megaman offered a guess to Lan.

"Nocturne…" April was starting to sound a little peeved.

Lan shrugged at Megaman's thought. "Your guess is as good as mine."

April had had enough. "NOCTURNE!!!" She shouted, causing everyone within hearing distance to jump.

The purple Navi glanced around wildly. "S-sorry April…I was daydreaming…"

April sat, her arms folded and her normal eye twitching with impatience. "I can understand why, but will you please answer me the FIRST TIME!!!" Everyone jumped again when she raised her voice unexpectedly.

"Y-yes. Sorry April. What was it you wanted?"

She sighed. "The data we copied from Bass."

This small sentence had a profound effect on everyone listening. Lan dropped his PET; Megaman froze, his eyes wide and staring; Protoman's jaw dropped; and Chaud fell out of his chair, giving his hip a lovely new bruise.

"H-holy cr-crap…" Lan stammered out, picking up Megaman, whose eyes were still wide. "How did she manage to get _that_ without Nocturne being deleted, or…or anything worse happening?"

Protoman glanced back into his PET, watching Chaud get up off the floor, holding his hip. "Are you okay Chaud?" He sat down heavily in his chair, leaning his elbows on the desk and lacing his fingers together. "I'll survive." He said. "I was just…surprised, that's all. Wait…what are they saying now?" Protoman turned back away from the screen.

"Which one?" Nocturne was asking while pulling out two data squares from off the edge of the screen. "His own data, or the data from the Get-Ability Program?"

Lan dropped his PET again, and Chaud clutched his desk so hard he got several splinters. He quickly pulled his hands away and pulled the offending pieces off wood out of his fingers before they got in too deep. Lan picked up Megaman with a whispered "Sorry," and the two boys turned their attention back to April, who was deep in thought.

"Let me see the…Get-Ability Program data first. I don't want to load in the other data yet. Even though it's only a copy, it's still Bass's data. I don't know what havoc it might wreak on her programming. Yeah… Let me see what I can do with that Program first…"

Nocturne glanced quickly off the edge of the screen. "Are you sure you want to start this right now April? It's almost time for you to meet Lan and Chaud for lunch."

Megaman glanced up at Lan, and he gulped. "How're ya gonna get out of here without her noticing, genius?" Megaman whispered as Lan started to sweat slightly.

April stood up and stretched. "A break sounds good right now." Her stomach grumbled. She glanced down at it, and Nocturne sniggered. "Actually…food sounds good now too. Time really flies…" She said, bending over to save her work and retrieve the disc from its slot in the computer and put it in its case. Nocturne disappeared from the screen and reappeared on the PET.

April put the disc back in her pocket and picked up her bag and PET. "Maybe I should get something other than raman today…" she mumbled as she walked out the door.

"April." Nocturne said as they got into the elevator. "You have a new email, do you want to read it now?" April nodded. "Sure. Who's it from?" she asked as she began to punch the elevator call button.

Lan waited until he heard the lab doors close, then he cautiously emerged from his hiding place. He stepped out of April's office just as Chaud was walking out of his next door. They froze mid-step, staring at each other. Lan smiled weakly.

"So…what're you gonna get for lunch?"

* * *

WAHHA!!!! CLIFFHANGER!!!! (kinda…) 

WAHHHH!!!! (starts dodging sharp objects being thrown with intent to harm severely) IF YOU KILL ME NOW, YOU'LL NEVER FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!! (object-throwing stops) heh heh…thanks…

You know…I just realized how stupid I can be when I start to write…as I'm typing this…there's a HUGE lightning storm hanging over my house…yeah… computers and lightning don't really mix, do they?

Anyways….

There is no music for this chapter because I'm typing it at strange hours in the morning and I like to have my music loud.

I'd like to thank Resse's Peanut Butter Cups and chocolate cake for inspiration to write this chapter.

The switching viewpoints thing wasn't really confusing, was it? It's not confusing to me… 'Course, I can see it all playing in my head anyways…. and if you see how I typed it exactly on my computer, it helps too. I tried to make it look the same, but it wouldn't work...

Shutting up…

Yeah…

Oh. And by the way…

I have band camp all this week from 9-4. Every day (yeah. I do marching band. It's actually pretty fun) and then the week after that, school starts. (SENIOR YEAR!!! WOOT!!!) so I don't think I'll be able to update as often. I do have a free period at the end of the day, so, depending on how much homework I have (and how tired I'm feeling)(and how long my creative edge keeps going [school sucks creativity right out of me sometimes), my update times will change. So far, I've been doing about a chapter every 1-2 days (which is pretty good, I think) but that might change to a chapter every week.

I know, I'm sorry. Blame the public education system!

……..

I want more chocolate.

Love me and…

Oh wait!! That's right!

Next time!!!

Chaud, April and Lan all have an awkward lunch conversation! And! We find out what this mysterious email that April recived is!! And!!! Chaud makes a promise!!! And!!!! It starts to rain.

Love me and review please.


	7. An Awkward Lunch… and A Promise Made

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 6

"An Awkward Lunch…and A Promise Made"

April sat humming quietly to herself, her legs out on the seat next to her, her head leaning on the window and staring at the ceiling.

Lan and Chaud sat in the seats behind her, both thinking about what they had just learned in April's office. The data she copied from Bass… the task her grandfather wanted her to complete… and, of course… the Navi herself… What did it all mean?

The train stopped, and April skipped out, whistling happily. She skipped all the way to Burgers N' Noodles, and she wore a big grin as they sat down and ordered.

"I'll have the beef raman bowl, and… hmmm… oo! Cheese fries, please!" She grinned toothily at the waiter and handed her menu back to him. He stared at her and her unexplained spunkiness. He glanced over at Lan and Chaud, who shrugged and ordered their usual.

April leaned her chair back on two legs, put her hands behind her head, staring at the ceiling, still humming some nameless tune. Lan and Chaud looked at each other, and held a quick, whispered conversation.

"Chaud, ask her!"

"You ask her, Hikari! You're always the curious one!"

"Yeah, but you're her boyfriend!"

Chaud twitched. He looked up and saw the waiter coming with their food. (a/n: man…that's _fast_ service…) "Let's _ro-sham-bo_ for it."

Lan grinned, and they silently pumped their fists three times up and down before reviling what they had.

"Scissors!" Lan whispered as Chaud said: "Paper!" Lan smirked, then nodded his head in April's direction. "Paper Warrior…" Chaud clenched his teeth, then looked up as the waiter set his food down in front of him.

April made a sound that was somewhere between a squeak and a squeal as her food was set in front of her. She bowed her head to the waiter, who looked at her suspiciously, then she dug in, grinning hugely between fries and mouthfuls of raman.

Lan and Chaud watched her for a bit, each munching on their own food. Halfway through the meal, Chaud sighed and put his BLT on his plate.

"Okay April," he started. "I give up. Why are you so perky? This isn't like you to be like this… and it's kinda starting to get scary…"

April stared at him, blinked, and then slurped up the noodle that was hanging from her mouth. "Well…" she said, glancing over at Nocturne, who looked just as uneasily back at her. Does Chaud know something he isn't supposed to? April thought quickly, munching on some fries to buy some time. "Am I really acting perky?" she said finally. She decided to play it safe, and tell another almost-truth.

"I guess it's about Grandpa. The doctors sent me an email that said his mental activity is going up, which means he might wake up soon." Lan and Chaud nodded understandingly, with smiles on their faces at the good news. April continued. "I can't wait to hear what he thinks about everything I've been working on these last few years. I'm just happy about that." She added with another big grin as the waiter came up and handed them their receipt. She shoved down the last of her raman, then stood up, pulling out her purse and heading towards the cash register.

Lan and Chaud also got up, whispering to each other once again.

"You idiot!" Lan said. "That's not what I was talking about! And you know it!"

"So why didn't you ask her yourself?" Chaud whispered back, turning and walking over to join April in paying for their meal.

"Chaud's right, you know."

"Be quiet Megaman."

Outside, it grew dark, and rain started to fall.

---

Standing in the train station, an urgent beeping came from April's pocket, louder than the thunder outside the station.

"April!! It's an email from the hospital!" Nocturne yelled. April whipped out her PET. "What?! What does it say?!" In response, Nocturne pulled out the email. Lan and Chaud looked over April's shoulders, and they read the email together. It was short, and to the point:

_Please come ASAP. We believe that Dr. Cossack might wake up soon._

The three gasped simultaneously, and started running to the other side of the station, where a train heading for the hospital was just pulling in. Once aboard, Chaud pulled out his PET. "Protoman, you're the fastest. Will you send an email telling Dr. Hikari where we're going and why?"

"Consider it done." Protoman nodded and disappeared from the screen. Within moments, he was back. "Message delivered successfully."

Lan nodded. "Good thinking." He said. "One less thing to worry about."

April said nothing, but continued pacing in the aisle, unable to sit, and looking out the windows every few seconds. After a few minutes of this, Chaud grabbed her hands as she passed by and pulled her down in the seat next to him, pulling her close. He glanced over at Lan, who cleared his throat and looked pointedly at the lightning dancing outside the window.

Chaud wrapped his arms around April, and was surprised to feel her shoulders shaking. "April?" she glanced up at him, then buried her face in his chest again. He put a finger under her chin, and gently tilted her head up to face his. In the corner of her one green eye, tears where glistening. Her yellow eye was dry, due to the plates that surrounded it. "What are you scared of, April?" he said.

April's eyes went wide, and her mind flashed back seven years…

"_Is it wrong to be scared?"_

_Her grandfather's face was clear in her memory as he smiled down at a younger April. "No, my darling, it's not." He replied, pulling her close as thunder rumbled over the small house._

Her mind snapped back to the present, and it was Chaud holding her; it was his blue eyes that were telling her that fear was natural, that it was okay to be scared of the thunder outside.

"I'm scared for…for Grandpa." She told him, her voice faltering the tiniest bit. "The email said he _might_ wake up. I don't know what I'll do if it turns out to be the…opposite instead…"

He let go of her chin, and lightly kissed the top of her head, letting her bury her face in his chest again. "Don't worry April." He said, stroking the fire-red hair that flowed down her back. "I can't promise that _that_ won't happen, but no matter what _does_ happen, I will stay with you through every moment."

April looked up at him again, smiling slightly through her tears. "You must have some idea about how cheesy that sounded." Chaud blushed a bit, and April leaned back against his chest. "But thanks all the same."

They sat that way for a while. The train sped through the countryside, and the rain came down harder then ever, and the lightning flashed brightly. One bolt flashed directly overhead, and thunder rattled the small car they were riding. April instinctively clutched at Chaud's clothes and pressed herself closer to him. Chaud grinned and looked down at the top of her head. "My dear April… you're not scared of the thunder, are you?" April blinked away the sudden memory, looked up at Chaud, and then stuck her tongue out at him.

---

As soon as the train stopped, April sprinted over to the hospital, with Lan and Chaud barely able to keep up. Despite their speed, the threesome walked into the lobby soaking wet. A nurse was waiting for them, a stack of towels next to her, and a bin full of wet ones on the other side. As they walked in, she threw a towel to each of them.

"I know how anxious you are to see your grandfather, April." She said, watching her vigorously rub her hair. "But we can't have you going in and getting the floor all wet. Too hazardous."

April threw her towel into the bin, then took off her lab coat and wrung it over the bin for good measure. "That dry enough?" she asked, her eyes saying 'You'd better let me through right now or I'll pound you flat, nurse or not.'

She grinned at April's look, then stepped aside, and April ran with Chaud and Lan behind her to the stairs, then up to the second floor to the end of the hallway. As they reached it, a doctor walked out, checking some notes he had made on a clipboard. April called out to him. "Dr. Toramizu!"

He stopped and looked over at April. "Dr. Toramizu! Is…is Grandpa…?" April couldn't find the words. She didn't have to. Dr. Toramizu shook his head.

"Sorry about the false alarm April. We thought it best to alert you, his only living relative. His brain waves spiked, and I ran in as fast as I can. His heart rate was up, and so were all his signs. I called his name, and his eyes fluttered. He murmured five words so mangled, I could hardly understand him. Afterwards, he sank back into his coma, and is still in that state now."

April's eyes were wild. "What did he say? What did he say?!" Chaud heard her wild tone, and he took her hand; he was unsurprised to feel her shaking.

"It sounded like 'It's not my time April.'… Are you alright?"

April had collapsed into a chair that was lined up next to the wall, her head in her hands. She sat there for a while, taking in deep breaths and trying to keep her composure. Chaud put a supporting arm around her shoulders and Lan turned to the doctor.

"Dr. Toramizu, is it alright if we go in with April?"

The doctor looked over at her, then nodded. "I think…that would be best." He said quietly, then walked over to April and patted her on the head. "If you need me, you know where to find me April."

"Okay…" she muttered though her hands, still not looking up.

Dr. Toramizu nodded to Lan and Chaud, then walked briskly to the other end of the hall, then proceeded up the stairs.

Abruptly, April stood up and opened the door to Dr. Cossack's room. Before she could walk in, Chaud grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the hall. She didn't resist. He put his finger under her chin like he did on the train, and looked into her eyes, whispering: "For every moment, right?" She nodded, and he pulled her PET out of her pocket, and handed it to her. She took it, and was surprised to see Nocturne smiling up at her. "Why're you so happy?" she asked.

"Because of what Dr. Cossack said. I would think you would be happy too. You get more time to work."

April smiled faintly. "That's one way to look at it."

Both Lan and Chaud knew what kind of 'work' Nocturne was talking about, but they pretended not to understand what he was talking about.

"Let's go."

April walked into the room, followed closely by Lan and Chaud.

Dr. Cossack was still lying in the same position as last time, but his mouth was hanging open a bit. Dr. Toramizu hadn't lied about him talking.

"Hi Grandpa." Said April, talking to the old man lying on the bed. "I brought some friends with me today. You should remember Chaud." She pointed to him, and he awkwardly inclined his head. "We get along a lot better know then we used to Grandpa. And the other boy is Lan Hikari, he's Dr. Hikari's son." Lan also bowed his head to Dr. Cossack, even though the old man couldn't see it. "His Navi's Megaman…I have a feeling that you would know who he is… the one you kept talking about, Grandpa." April giggled a bit, her eyes far away, reliving a memory—one where Dr. Cossack would talk excitedly about how he knew both the father _and_ grandfather of the Net-Op that defeated Bass. Then he would go off on a tangent about how old that would make him feel. April giggled again, then bowed to her grandfather.

"I'll see you again Grandpa. Get better soon. I have so much to show you. I hope you'll be proud of me." She leaned over the bed, careful not to unplug or tug on any of the wire and cords, then kissed him on the forehead. "I'm holding you to your words Grandpa. Be sure to wake up soon so I can show you what I've done with Requiem." She straightened, then walked out of the room without looking back.

Lan inclined his head once again. "I hope I'll be able to talk to you again soon, Dr. Cossack. I'm sure my father does too." He also turned and walked out, leaving Chaud standing alone next to the bed. He stared down at the old man, thinking back to the first time he had met Dr. Cossack and April.

"I know we never got to talk very much Dr. Cossack, but there is something I feel you should know about me now. I don't know if you can hear me, but I want to tell you this: I love your granddaughter. I plan to start dating with intention to marry her. When you wake up, I would like your permission to do so." Chaud bowed. "I look forward to speaking with you again." He walked out of the room and joined April in the hallway.

Lightning flashed through the window, and in the light of the flash and from the monitors, one could swear to see a smile on Dr. Cossack's face.

* * *

Band Camp…hurts…don't forget…sunscreen….ouch…

I just finished band camp, and I've got sunburns on the backs of my legs, right below my knees, cuz I was wearing shorts. The burns are so bad, they started blistering…but it's been a couple of days since I got the burn so I think I'm getting better…but it still hurts… T-T I cry…

WHEEE!!!! FLUFF!!!! I had no siphon for it… like I did with the oneshot…I just need to get it out somehow…and it's not happening in my own life, so it comes about through my stories…even if Chaud has to act a bit OOC… but I like it. So there. :P

Did anyone recognize the doctor's name? (If you don't get this Erin… you are not a true fangirl!!) I think I made it obvious…you just have to know your mangas…

Music for this chapter!!! 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' – Green Day; 'Carry On My Wayward Son' – Kansas; 'Smooth Criminal' – Michael Jackson (don't say anything. It's actually a pretty cool song).

Did anyone also catch the direct quote from earlier in the story? Be the first to review and be right, and I will give you a special prize next chapter!!! But it has to be a good review…. Or it doesn't count. Tell me what you like and don't like, etc, etc, etc, and so forth…(the King and I )

Next Time!!!!!

_This_ is the chapter that April will get pissed off at the Get-Ability Program. And Chaud and Protoman will talk about important things…and we might find out what Chaud's working on…I don't know…he hasn't told me yet…and that is a little problem… '

Love me and review please.


	8. Destruction… And A Hidden Agenda

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 7

"Destruction… And A Hidden Agenda"

April sat in front of her computer at home, irritably punching keys and staring into the small screen.

"I wish I could afford multiple monitors." She grumbled. "Then I could see everything at once."

"Well, if _someone_ didn't spend all her money on books and battlechips…" Nocturne sighed in his PET.

April gritted her teeth. "Shut it. It would just be easier if I could see all these parts, enlarged, in one spot, instead of having to switch all the time… It's annoying! Gah!" She threw her arms up and leaned back in her swivel chair staring, once more, at the ceiling. _Perhaps I should put something up there…_ she mused. _Then I would have something to look at._

"April…"

She looked over at her PET. Nocturne waved at her impatiently from the computer screen. He was pointing past the window April had taking up most of the screen.

"You'd better have a look at this… I have no idea _what_ this data is doing."

April sat forward, and then brought up the screen Nocturne was pointing to. She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and then blinked some more at the screen.

The Get-Ability Program was copying _itself_.

Pieces that April had separated from it were gathering back around the primary piece, which was glowing a bright yellow and starting to spin. As the data gathered, it would split into smaller pieces, then glow and spin. The pieces started forming a shape. It wobbled once, twice; then, with a bright flash of light, became a Navi-shaped data bunch. It twitched.

"Did…did it…just…complete itself?" Nocturne gaped open-mouthed at the data before him. Its light was shiny, hypnotizing. As he reached one hand out towards it, it raised one of its own arms.

"Nocturne, LOG OUT!!!" April screamed.

As he disappeared, the copy lunged.

April ripped her PET out of the base, pulling her disc from her pocket and loading it in the same movement. The nearly complete Navi appeared on the screen, and started rotating slowly.

The copy stared at the form in front of it. Hesitantly, it seemed, it reached out it hand towards the other. When the two programs made contact, another bright flash flew out from April's screen. A horrible sound came from the copy, like it was screaming in both pain and delight. The light grew brighter and the sound grew louder. April squeezed her eyes shut and clamped her hands over her ears. She could feel the whirring of the machine under her skin.

The light died down gradually. April cautiously opened her eyes, keeping them narrowed in case of another flash, walked over to the screen and looked at it.

The copy had vanished. All that was left was the floating frame of Requiem.

April blinked and looked closer. The coloring had changed just a little. Her little 'fins' and rings were now the same deep red as the rest of her lines. Her black hair had obtained some yellow and red highlights. Looking at her face, her eyes were still closed, but her mouth was turned up barely enough to be a smirk, but that's what it was. As though she knew she had just obtained some awesome power and was almost complete.

"Wow…" April breathed. "What do you think, Noc—NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" She had looked at her PET and screamed.

The screen had zoomed out and was showing Nocturne's entire body. Or what was left of it.

His right leg and arm were completely gone, and most of his left leg had disappeared. What was left was defragmented and badly torn up. Nocturne weakly opened his eyes.

"A-April?" He stammered out, taking in shallow gasps of air. "Wh—why are you s-so loud?"

Tears ran down April's cheek. She clutched the PET so tightly her knuckles were white. "Nocturne…? What—what happened?"

He closed his eyes again. "The copy touched me. Right as I logged out. April…" he opened his eyes and looked pleadingly at her. "It hurts… it hurts so much…"He closed his eyes and his head fell back.

April sobbed and screamed. "DON'T LEAVE ME!!! I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!!!" Keeping a hold of her PET, she stumbled around the apartment, fumbling for her cell phone. She finally found it, and then pressed speed dial #3. It was answered on the second ring.

"D-Dr. Hikari? Are you s-still at Scilab?"

"Yes I am. Are you alright April?"

She hiccupped, trying to hold in a sob. "N-Nocturne's been badly damaged, can you help him?"

The other end of the line was silent for a moment.

"Get a recovery program started and come on down right away." Was all he said, and then hung up the phone.

April forcefully wiped her eye, hung up, and then ran out the door, grabbing her lab coat on the way. She ran all the way down to the train station, only looking up from her PET to avoid running into things, whispering to Nocturne the entire way.

"Please….please don't leave me like Grandpa almost did. Stay with me, Nocturne…" She ran onto the train bound for Scilab.

"Please… please…"

---

(Point-of-View: Chaud Blaze – 3rd person)

Chaud walked lazily down the hall, his hands in his pockets, and his head bowed in thought.

_Stupid press. I thought I told all those teen magazines to stay away from me. I'm not interested in what gossip they can spread…_

He opened a door and walked into a gigantic room, covered with computers and monitors. Chaud chose one near the front of the room, one of the smaller ones, and turned it on. He turned on the one next to him too.

Protoman materialized on the screen directly in front of Chaud. "You have a new email, Chaud. Would you like to read it now?"

Chaud nodded absentmindedly. "Sure, go ahead."

Superintendent Oda's face filled the screen.

"Hello Chaud. Long time, no see.

"Enough formalities. There is something I want you to investigate. We've detected a lot of movement and strange activity in the UnderNet recently—especially around the area under Scilab—and several of our techs are saying that the signature of the attacks and destruction is similar to only one Navi."

_Don't say it…_ Chaud thought. _Anyone but him…_

"They believe that Bass is back on the move, and that something has him really upset."

Chaud groaned. Of course it was Bass, the one Navi he never wanted to cross paths with again.

"Don't worry. I just need you to do some reconnaissance for me. Lan and Megaman will also be working with you. If you see any suspicious activity, report it to me immediately. That includes activity of any of your colleges at Scilab."

Chaud could feel the color fall from his face.

"Start as soon as you can and, good luck. Oda, out."

Oda's face disappeared and Protoman came back. "What are you going to do, Chaud?… Chaud?"

Chaud was banging his head, softly, on the edge of the table, whispering "Why, why, why, why, why, why, why…" with every bump.

"Chaud, stop it." Protoman said firmly. "Hurting yourself will not make your situation any easier." Chaud sighed and laid his head on the desk.

"I know, Protoman. Nothing will make this situation any easier."

The computer next to Chaud beeped, and he turned to face it. Protoman reappeared on that screen, standing in the way of his work.

"Protoman, will you move, please?"

Protoman folded his arms and stayed put.

Chaud was miffed. Protoman never disobeyed orders like that.

"You never answered my question, Chaud." Protoman said softly. He angled his head slightly, and Chaud caught a glimpse of one of his eyes, staring intently at him.

Chaud sighed, deeper this time, with some pain underneath. "To be honest Protoman, I have no idea _what_ I'm going to do. I was already worried about that program April has been working on, and now I know why Bass is so ticked. She must've gotten the data straight from him, and she's planning to create another Navi like Bass."

Protoman nodded.

"And now I have orders straight from Oda to report anything odd… but I couldn't do that to April. She's been through too much… she fully believes that Dr. Cossack will wake up and her life will be complete once again… If I turn her in," Chaud put his face in his hands. "I'll destroy her life all over again."

Protoman was a little taken aback. The only other humans he had shown this much emotion—this much concern—for was Lan, and for his own mother. He was confused. Human emotions were beyond his comprehension; he knew that Chaud didn't attach himself to just anyone. Of course he would want to make sure April was safe and happy.

"You're not going to tell Oda anything about her, are you?"

Chaud hesitated, and then shook his head. "What Oda doesn't know, won't hurt him. Whatever nonsense April is creating, I'm sure I can talk her out of it."

"Are you sure?"

Chaud smiled weakly. "Yeah… I think I have the ability to influence her quite a bit."

Protoman didn't smile back, just looked at Chaud, tilting his head back so that most of his face was hidden again. After a moment, he moved and got out of the way of Chaud's work. Chaud smiled gratefully.

"I will do as you say, and keep quiet about this sir, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Chaud was typing away on the keyboard. "I didn't expect you to. And that's perfectly all right. You are entitled to your own opinion. And now… let's see…" he left the one program up, then switched his attention to the one in front of him, opening another black window and typing rapidly, moving lines of text from one window to another, and typing in new lines in both of them.

Protoman watched, detached, his mind wandering to what he had witnessed in April's computer. He thought of that huge program, and of the work April had put into creating it… But if it was meant to become a second Bass…

Protoman tried to suppress a shudder, though nothing escaped Chaud's notice.

"What's wrong Protoman?"

He stared straight into his Net-Op's eyes. "Chaud… what will happen if April succeeds? That program she's creating… did you hear what she said about the data she copied from Bass? She's creating another like him! What would happen if the second went out of control?"

Chaud stared back, his fingers slowing down, and then finally stopping. "Do you realize what you are suggesting, Protoman?"

He nodded. "How well do you think April's Scilab computer is protected?"

Chaud leaned back and watched the ceiling, a habit he had acquired from April. "She wouldn't have any data in her computer. She carries it all on a disc…"

"That she keeps on her person at all times." Protoman finished. "We can't let her finish the Navi. If she did, and Bass met the program, it would be…"

"Catastrophic." Chaud filled in. "For all we know, Bass could destroy Scilab in his attempt to get his data back. April must _not_ complete this program—she needs to give Bass's data back. He'll calm down, and we can go back to normal… Perhaps…" Chaud glanced over at his Navi, who was looking intensely back. "Perhaps I should turn her in then… for the overall good…"

He looked back at Protoman, who was surprised that Chaud would change his mind about something important so quickly. Chaud let his head fall into his hands again. "But if I _did_, and it turns out that nothing would've happened… Augh!!" He moaned.

Protoman automatically reached out a hand, wanting to comfort Chaud, before remembering that he never could. He dropped his hand. "Chaud, sir?"

"What am I supposed to do, Protoman?" He looked up from his hands, and Protoman saw that he had tears forming, before Chaud roughly rubbed his eyes. "Do you know?"

This time, Protoman reached his hand out and placed it directly on the screen, reaching out to his Net-Op. "No, Chaud." He whispered. "I don't know."

---

(Point-of-View: New Character, 1st person)

I stepped out of the train station into the fading sunlight of DenTech City. The ride had been a brutal 7 hours of constant stops and switching trains. I stretched, breathing in deeply, then clutched at my lower back.

"Oww…" I moaned. "Why does she have to live so dang far away?"

"Oh, stop complaining." Came a voice from my side. "I've had much worse."

I pulled my PET out of my pocket, and scowled at my broadly grinning Navi. "I know you have. Stop bringing it up."

He laughed.

I sighed, and then pushed a button, bringing a map up on my PET, and completely covering his face.

"Hey!" He cried, beating at the edges of the screen. "Not fair!"

"Oh stop complaining." I said, locating her apartment, then looking up to find the right direction. A ripping sound came from my PET. I looked back, not surprised to see that he had completely cut through the middle of the map. I groaned. "Would you _please_ stop destroying my map programs? I need those!"

"Well, that's tough." He said, sticking his tongue out at me.

"You know I have a bad sense of direction!"

"And that's not my fault, is it?"

I started walking towards the apartment buildings several blocks away, and we argued the whole way.

"Do you realize how expensive those things are?"

"Do you think I care how expensive they are?"

"You should!"

"If I can destroy them that easily, they weren't worth buying in the first place."

"A little map program has nothing on you!"

Ten minutes later, we had finally located the right apartment; I stood at the door, and rang the buzzer.

No one answered.

Confused, I rang again, with the same response.

Now I was starting to wonder. I knocked on the door, and was surprised to see that it swung open. It had obviously been left unlocked. I pushed the door open, and walked inside as the light all but disappeared from around me.

"Hello? April? Are you here?"

The small rooms were dark, but the computer was still running, the only light in the rooms, and the chair next to the desk had been knocked over.

"She must've left in a hurry." The voice at my belt observed.

"No… Ya think?" I said sarcastically, righting the chair and moving on. The place was deserted.

"Why don't we turn on some lights?" I located the right switches, and the apartment filled with light.

I pulled out my PET and looked around at the small living area next to the kitchen. Dozens of photos lined the walls, the glass plates glinting slightly. I walked up to one, examining the two people in it. "That's defiantly April and Dr. Cossack. She must've just stepped out for a bit."

"And leave in such a rush?"

"Hmm... point." I sat down on the small couch and yawned. "But, she did say we could come on over whenever, right?" I yawned again. "I'm gonna go to sleep."

I changed into my pajamas, then located the linen closet and pulled a blanket and pillow down. Walking back into the living room, I arranged the pillow and blanket on the couch.

"Are you sure about this?" Came the voice from the PET on the little coffee table. "Why don't we just go to a hotel for a night?"

I shook my head and lied down. "I'm too tired. And I don't think I have enough money." I added, slightly embarrassed. "Once I start getting paid, I'll be fine. Until then, I just hope that April's as nice as I remember."

"Brilliant plan." He grumbled.

"I know. Good night."

" 'Night."

* * *

I'm sunburned _again_… I don't believe it…. Well, 'k, I do. I forgot sunscreen again…. sigh it's not as bad as my legs though. Which is good. 

And again… it's midnight. And school is in session.

……………………..

I don't really care. I got the chapter out, and you're all happy, right?

I listened to so much music this time, I don't feel like listing all the songs. Lots of songs were by the group Initial D, though…. They're my new favorite band.

Did Chaud seem OOC? I tend to do that a lot…. (sweatdrop) it's hard to think of him as my age when he's only 11 in the manga…. (sigh) but I think he has excusable enough fears, I guess you could call them.

I need to expand my vocabulary. (random --')

Did anyone figure out who the new character and his Navi is? (new characters?) (don't say anything Erin…) I was being really vague, I know. I did it on purpose. April's gonna be the one to announce his name. When she gets back… _if_ she gets back…

Muahahahahahaha…..

This chapter was pretty angst-y, wasn't it? I tried to put some comic relief in at the end, and once you know who the characters are, you'll look back and laugh. (I hope…)

BTY- these characters were never in the English anime. They appear other seasons never shown here (fume) and in the movie and the manga, but they were never brought here…

(sigh) they're both so cool too!!! T-T

I made a t-shirt. It says 'Oro?' on the front. I laughed when I made it. (random again…)

Next time….

We find out who the way awesomely cool new characters are!! YEAH!!!!!! And Bass gets to rant and have his own monologue. YEA!!!!!!!!!!! SQUEE!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunburn…hurts….

Love me and review please.


	9. An Old Friend… and Another’s Hatred

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 8

"An Old Friend… and Another's Hatred"

The train rattled beneath April's feet, but she didn't feel the gentle shaking. She hung on loosely to a pole, staring at the ground, but not seeing. Her mind whirled, but she couldn't think. Her hair fell over her face, hiding the blank despair in her eyes.

The pouch that held her PET was empty.

_The giant lights flickered on, lighting Scilab's grounds. April, her eyes still on her PET, didn't notice._

_Dr. Hikari was waiting for her in their lab, his eyes widening when he saw the condition Nocturne was in._

_"Nocturne!! What happened to him, April?" He looked over at her, taking her PET and plugging it into the computer._

_More silent tears fell down April's face, she opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Dr. Hikari gave her a quick hug, and then turned his focus back to Nocturne._

_On the giant screen, Nocturne looked even worse. His left leg was all but gone, and his arm was slowly disappearing. April cried out, and rushed to the screen, placing her hands directly next to Nocturne, and leaned in towards him._

_"Nocturne…" she whimpered._

_Dr. Hikari gently pushed her away and sat her down in her chair. "I can't work if you insist on standing in front of the screen."_

_April bowed her head. "I'm sorry Doctor…" she whispered._

_He gave April a small smile, then he turned back to the screen. "You need to pull yourself together and help me if we're going to save Nocturne, April. He's counting on you."_

The train stopped with a jolt and April slowly walked off and outside. The sun was just rising on the eastern horizon, staining the sky a blood red and reflecting orange off the buildings.

April was blind to the beauty, her mind back at Scilab.

_Dr. Hikari tapped her on the shoulder._

_"It's midnight now April. Why don't you… go on home and get some sleep?" He said, yawning in the middle of his sentence. April didn't need to look at him to see the circles under his eyes._

_"You go home, Dr. Hikari." She said, looking up for only a moment before going back to her work. "I can stay up longer. I'll be fine."_

_Dr. Hikari frowned. "I can't leave you here alone though… Why don't I have Lan and Megaman come and join you?"_

_April shrugged. "If you think that Lan can stay awake…"_

_"Good point…" Dr. Hikari thought some more. "I've got it! I'll send Megaman and a nurse program over to help. She might know something we don't."_

_April just nodded._

She walked slowly down the sidewalk, like a zombie. She nearly walked past her apartment building before it registered in her mind that this was where she lived, and she needed to go there. She dragged her feet up the stairs, keeping her eyes downcast the entire way.

_Megaman and the nurse NetNavi, named Medi, arrived a few minutes after Dr. Hikari left. April didn't want to look desperate, but she was glad for their company._

_The three had worked diligently all night, and were rewarded in the early hours of the morning._

_"He won't be deleated." Medi said, looking at several instruments surrounding Nocturne. April and Megaman breathed a giant sigh of relief. "But he's safe only for tonight. He'll need to be constatnly monitored so we will know if he starts to slip away. I'll stay and watch over him."_

_"And now you," Medi addressed April. "Need to get home to bed. We'll be right here when you arrive _after lunch _to report to work." April opened her mouth to argue, but Medi held up an authoritative hand. "As a nurse, I know about you humans too. You need 8 solid hours of sleep, and I'll tell Dr. Hikari to not let you in until after lunch. Now go get some sleep."_

_April looked at Nocturne, laying in a capsule, then nodded to Medi. "Alright then. I'll try. I don't think I'll be able to sleep after what happened, but I'll try."_

_Medi smiled brightly. "That's the spirit! Good night."_

_April took one last long look at her Navi before leaving the lab._

When she finally got up to her apartment door, she looked sadly at the screen above the buzzer. Nocturne would have appeared by now if it had been a visitor…

Pushing the memory away, April pulled out her keys and put them in the door. It opened without her having to unlock it. April groaned.

_Now what's been stolen?_ She thought, assuming the worst.

The early morning sun shone through the windows, alighting on a figure on her couch. April stood in the doorway, staring at it. His back was to her, and the blanket—one of hers, she noticed—was up around almost to the top of his head.

April stood there, confused. Why would a thief spend the night?

The figure stirred, awoken by a ray of light, and sat up and stretched his arms. A familiar feather design decorated his pajamas. He turned to face her, and April screamed loudly. _Very_ loudly.

Next door, her 25-year-old neighbor woke with a start. Jumping out of bed and into his slippers, he grabbed his robe and ran out the door. _That sounded like April! She must be in trouble!_

_Again…_

He ran into April's open door and stopped in his tracks, taking in the strange sight. He broke down into laughter.

April and her visitor were sitting on the floor near the window, and April was hugging him tightly around the neck, squealing.

"Dingo!! Dingo!! Dingo!! I'm so glad to see you again!!"

Dingo's arms fluttered around him in a crazy pattern. "Can't… breathe…"

April's neighbor finally caught his breath. He walked out, waving the small, sleepy crowd at April's door away, explaining that: "It's just an old friend. Not a murder. Go back to sleep."

Back in the apartment, Dingo had finally managed to pull April off his neck. "I'm glad to see you're doing well, April." He said, massaging his throat.

"Just as much energy as ever." Another voice chimed in.

April squealed again. "Tomahawkman!!" She automatically leapt to glomp him.

Dingo's PET with Tomahawkman inside was sitting on the little coffee table, near the door leading to April's room. April sailed over the table and the PET, sliding into her room, clearing a pathway on the floor though all the junk.

Tomahawkman fell over laughing in the PET. Dingo laughed also, but he went over to check on April. She hadn't moved from where she had slid.

Dingo went over and rolled April onto her back. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing steadily.

"She fell asleep…" he murmured in disbelief. By pure instinct, he picked April up and placed her in her bed, taking off her shoes and pulling the covers around her.

He smiled and ruffled her hair. "Get some sleep kid." A glint of silver caught his eye. Curious, he brushed April's hair from her face. He gasped.

Tomahawkman was up and serious instantly. "What's wrong Dingo?"

Dingo walked, shocked, out of April's room. "You need to see this, Tomahawkman… It explains a lot."

Tomahawkman, too, gasped when he saw the metal plates that had been set around April's eye. "It sure does explain a lot…" he whispered, not wanting to wake her up. He glanced around the room. "Wait… Where's her PET?"

They searched the messy apartment, and found nothing. Nothing on the table, the kitchen counters, even in her backpack. Nothing but mess.

They puzzled as Dingo got dressed.

"That eye must be the reason she stopped battling with us." Dingo said as he pulled his pants on. "And kept in touch only through emails… none of them were ever video mail."

Tomahawkman shook his head. "No… a couple of them were, and she would show herself on the 'Net, too. But never her full face."

Dingo tied his yellow and blue diamond headband back, then pulled his shirt on, leaving the hood up.

"I can't even begin to assume the reason April got that… eye," he said, tying his chain of lucky feathers onto his belt loops. "but I'm sure she'll tell us the reasoning when she wants to."

Tomahawkman nodded, smiling up at his Net-Op. "Whatever you say, Dingo."

--

(Point-of-View: Bass 1st person)

I sat alone in the UnderNet, a gentle breeze ruffled the edges of the cape that I wore to cover the scar left by Scilab.

I ran my hands over the spot on my side where that other Navi had reached into me, pulling out my data and copying it.

I ground my teeth. That…. _freeze_… I had been subjected to was unlike anything I had ever felt. My data still squirmed when I thought of him placing his hands inside me… and that girl…

That girl…

She claims to be Dr. Cossack's granddaughter, and if she truly is, why would she want my data? A copy even? I know plenty of people who would want to destroy me, but none who wanted a copy… She didn't even tell her acquaintances about it. Why would she be hiding it?

Several steps sounded behind me. I closed my eyes and felt my hands clench into fists. _What more do these fools want?_

"Bass!"

I didn't turn around.

"Leave me be if you value your pathetic existence."

"You will pay for your insolence!"

I turned my head and glared at the grouping of gnats behind me. Several behind the leader took an involuntary step back. The rest shuddered, visibly showing their fear.

"I think not. You're not worth my time."

The leader growled, and brought a big gun up to bear, pointing it at me. The rest of the group did the same.

I laughed, a cold, mirthless sound, and let it echo across the empty UnderNet.

"Laugh all you want Bass! You won't be alive to laugh later!" He and the others fired at me, pointblank.

I activated my Aura Shield, and the blast passed harmlessly over me. As the light from the blast faded, the triumphant grins fell off their faces. I deactivated the Aura Shield and took a step towards them.

"There is only one Navi whose challenge I will accept." I took several more steps, but no one could move—they were all frozen in fear.

"You all are pitiful compared to him. You don't deserve to be destroyed by me, but…" I stopped right in front of the leader. "You have annoyed me, like the insects you are." I held up my hand and started gathering the energy I would need.

"Die, gnats."

The Earthbreaker incinerated them, carving a deep gully in the ground, their ashes floating away on the breeze it created. I let them go. I didn't want the ability of gnats such as them corrupting my data.

My data….

I could feel my old rage rising up once again in me. The anger… the hatred… resurfacing…

I shook my head and launched myself into the air, flying through the barrier between the UnderNet and the 'Net.

I would just have to be content with finding out what her plan is. I will save the energy my rage gives me for extracting my revenge.

If the girl _was_ Dr. Cossack's granddaughter, she should've had some idea about what she was getting herself into.

When she involved me, that idea became completely wrong.

_It is time to show the humans just exactly why they should never cross me again._

--

(Back at April's apartment…)

April lay asleep in her bed, the curtains and the doors closed.

In the room next door, her computer started emitting beeps and whirring sounds. The data on the disk still left loaded in opened up. Requiem appeared on the screen, along with the copy of Bass's data.

The strand within Requiem and the strand outside started pulsing and writhing, responding to the anger and rage Bass was feeling. The two strands twisted frantically, leaning towards each other as though connected by some invisible force.

The red strand of Bass's data leaned in even closer to the Get-Ability data. The red strand flowed through her frame and wrapped itself around the other familiar data. There was another flash of light, and she stopped rotating.

Her fingers twitched, and the program closed.

--

Thousands of cyber miles away, Bass stopped moving. He hovered where he was for a moment, his head cocked as if listening to someone whisper in his ear.

He grinned widely, showing his pointed teeth, and he took off to were he had heard his data call.

_Your time draws nigh, human._

* * *

BASS IS SO EVIL!! I LOVE IT!!

It's been the longest time since I've been able to write from an evil character's perspective. It felt good to get all that nastiness out.

We found out who the new characters are! YAY!! I LOVE DINGO AND TOMAHAWKMAN!! THEY'RE SO HYPER, ITS AWSOME!!

I'm eating sunflower seeds, but I want chocolate.

Oh, and the creepy pointed smile of Bass's that I'm talking about shows up at the end of volume 3. Like, one of the last few pages. It's really scary… but smexy… '

Yes……

I've discovered it's possible to get infected with hyperness while texting a hyper person on a cell phone…. (yes, Erin, I'm talking to you.) (I know sunflower seeds don't make me hyper. And I don't have any sugar.)

Tomahawkman shows up in vol. 9 and Dingo in vol. 10. In case you cared.

Music!! 'Cloud Connected' – In Flames; 'Eurobeat' – Initial D; and 'My Only Star' – also Initial D. (so random…. --')

Next time!!

We find out where Dingo and Tomahawkman are working! (give you 3 guesses…) days pass… and we find out the fate of Nocturne… some more time passes, and Chaud accosts April, finally…

Muahahahahahaha…………

**Love me and review please**


	10. Danger… and an Accusation

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 9

"Danger… and an Accusation"

_April was running. All around her, little lights twinkled and flashed. She had no idea where she was, but a sense of urgency was rising within her, and she continued running on._

_As she ran onward, a shape started rising in the distance. She pushed herself harder, finding it easy to run at such a fast and continuous pace._

_As she got closer, another, smaller, figure appeared next to the first. Panic and urgency flooded her mind again. She pushed herself even harder._

_Two Navis rose before her eyes. One was kneeling on the ground, ready to stand up, and the other stood over him, his right arm formed into a sword. Neither was moving; it was as if they were on pause, waiting for her to get there before continuing on._

_April got within five feet, and then stopped abruptly. The Navis moved, and the scenery changed. Within the blink of an eye, the area became scared with various explosions, and pieces of Navis lay strewn about._

_Bass stood up, the limiters glowing on his wrists and ankles. "Why won't you listen to me?" He yelled at the other Navi. "I'm innocent! Why won't you listen to Dr. Cossack...? Dr. Cossack?"  
Bass looked away, distracted for a moment, and the other Navi made his move. He stepped forward and sliced at Bass, his fire sword connecting and cutting right through Bass' Navi Mark._

_Bass screamed, and then hit the ground with a thud._

_April gasped, her hands flying up to her mouth._

_The security Navi stepped next to Bass, holding his sword high. "You're gone Bass!"_

_"NO!" April lunged forward—her fingertip brushed against Bass' hand._

_His limiters fell apart, enveloping him in a bright white glow. April saw something red rise in the center of the glow, then disappear with the white. The security Navi took a hesitant step backwards._

_Bass raised his own heat blade, and then brought it up through the security Navi's chest and head._

_The Navi fell at April's feet. She watched it fall, and then it disappeared as it hit the ground. The destruction and other bodies faded away also._

_April looked up and saw the present day Bass standing before her. His cape rustled slightly as he took a step towards her. The glare from his red eyes pierced through her flesh, right down to her core._

_"Did you think I would never find you?" He whispered menacingly. April's eyes went wide and she shivered._

_"Underestimating me will cost you your life." He raised his hand._

_"Bass, no! Please—!"_

_"Regret it Human!"_

_He fired the Earthbreaker straight at April._

"NOOOOO!!!!"

April sat up so quickly her covers flew everywhere and her pillow fell to the floor. She stared around in bewilderment for a moment before she realized that she was in her room, on her own bed, and still dressed in the same clothes as yesterday.

Taking a shuddering breath, she covered her face with a shaking hand, feeling sweat beaded on her skin.

It was just a dream… she thought. No, it was a nightmare…

Wiping her hands on her covers, she slid out of bed, noticing that her shoes had been taken off, and the shades on the windows drawn. Her room was dark and cool, late afternoon sun coming in through the cracks in the shades and casting small shadows on the cluttered floor.

She rubbed her eyes, sliding over to the small bathroom and climbed in the shower. The hot water burned her neck slightly, rudely waking her up. She ran her hands through her wet hair, water cascading down her back and flowing down the drain at her feet. April noticed that her hands were shaking still, from her dream.

Switching the water off, April stepped out of the shower, now clean. She wrapped a towel around herself and walked into her room. She picked out some new underwear, and then pulled a gray pair of jeans out of her drawers, along side a dark purple shirt with Nocturne's Navi Mark painted brightly on the front.

She stood over her bed, glancing between her clothes and the small digital clock next to her computer, calculating how much time she would need. Staring absentmindedly at the wall above her bed, she started taking off her towel.

"Hello April!"

April emitted a little shriek, jumping high into the air, and dropped her towel, which caused other screams and yells of surprise to come from April and the computer.

She grabbed the towel and rewrapped it firmly around herself before turning to face her computer and glaring with her full power at the cowering Navi on the screen.

Tomahawkman was shivering in the corner, his back turned to her and his hands pressed tightly over his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!" He was yelling. "I didn't see anything, I swear! I'm sorry!! I didn't mean to!"

"Tomahawkman!"

He stopped yelling and peeked at April between his fingers. His eyes were wide and apologetic looking. April's anger abated a bit when she saw this display of cuteness, but she still managed to look very stern.

"Now, Tomahawkman… don't you know that you should knock or send some sort of warning before you barge into someone's room like that?" She was pointing her finger at Tomahawkman, like a scolding mother, while the other hand was firmly holding the towel around her.

Tomahawkman nodded, and bowed down to April, his hands shaking slightly. "I'm so sorry April! Please forgive me!"

April resisted the urge to try and hug him. Instead, she said: "It's okay Tomahawkman. I know it was an accident. Just be more careful, 'k?" He nodded vigorously, smiling widely. "Now turn around." April said. "I'm going to change, and you're going to tell me why you're here. If you peek, you're deleted." He turned around instantly.

"Now, why are you here and not with Dingo?"

"He sent me to check in on you." Tomahawkman's voice sounded stiff.

"Relax, Tomahawkman."

He let out a great breath of air, and then continued. "He said you didn't seem like your normal self when you came home this morning… especially coming in so late. He… we were both worried about you. And he wants to know why you don't have Nocturne with you."

There was a soft thwump behind Tomahawkman, followed by a louder thunk. He turned around, and saw April. Her coat had slipped from her fingers and she had collapsed to her knees, her hands wrapped around her head, covering her ears. Tomahawkman pressed his face to the screen.

"April? April!"

She whimpered. "N-Nocturne… d-don't leave me…" Tears squeezed from her left eye and fell to the carpet below. A-Another loss… I can't take it… I-I just can't…

"APRIL!"

Her head snapped up at the sound of her name. Filling her computer screen was Dingo's face. "Pull it together April!" He yelled; his hands pressed against the screen like Tomahawkman's were just a moment ago.

"What happened to that strong girl I used to know? You're letting one little set-back stop you from doing what you need to do?" Dingo's eyes bored into April's, holding her gaze and pleading with her.

"B-but Dingo… Nocturne… Nocturne is—"

"That's no excuse!" He interrupted. "Get your butt over here and help him! You can't just break down April…" Dingo's voice softened. "He needs you… you need to get here right away."

Panic fluttered in April's chest. "Is something wrong again?"

Dingo didn't answer. "Just come." Was all he said, and then the screen went blank.

April was out of the apartment in five seconds flat.

---

April burst into the lab, startling poor Dr. Hikari and causing him to almost spill his coffee all over himself. April ran right past him, charging over to the computer at the end of the room. Chaud was standing in front of it, furiously typing and dragging items around on a smaller screen in front of him.

Nocturne was lying on the bigger screen, strands of burning red data spinning all around him, causing parts of his base to flicker in and out of existence. His face was contorted in pain.

April pushed Chaud aside without even a 'Hello,' taking the spot where he had been standing.

"You're not gonna be deleted on my watch, Nocturne." She murmured to the screen, typing even faster than Chaud had been.

"What can I do, April?" He asked.

She gestured vaguely to a station next to her. "Clear that data from around him if you can. It's messing with the recovery program and erasing his data."

"We're on it." Said two voices.

Chaud sat down on April's left, Dingo sat to her right, both jacking in their Navis.

"Jack in—"

"Protoman!"

"Tomahawkman!"

"Power up!"

---

Several hours later, April, Chaud and Dingo all fell into nearby chairs, exhausted. Protoman and Tomahawkman returned to their PETs, and Nocturne lay peacefully on the screen, the area around him clear, and the recovery program running faster than before.

"Good job April." Chaud said, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. She nodded, and then looked over at Dingo.

"When did you start working here?" She asked.

He broke into a big grin. "Today. The Netopian Army asked me to come and watch the 'Net from this side. Dr. Hikari agreed to let me work with him."

"'Watch the 'Net'? What's going on?" April tilted her head a bit in her confusion. "Why have you been ordered here?" The tone of her voice was very serious.

Dingo bit his lower lip, and then glanced quickly over at Chaud, who shook his head microscopically. Dingo turned back to April, whose face was swimming with confusion.

"I wish I could tell you April…" he began hesitantly. "But I've been ordered to… keep it a secret. I will tell you one thing though. When Nocturne has healed, don't let him leave the boundaries of your computers. It is… imperative that his data signature stay… keep a low profile for a bit."

April stiffened with alarm. Chaud squeezed her hand again. "Why? Is he in danger?" she asked.

Dingo though for a moment.

"It is quite possible. And you along with him."

---

Dingo's words haunted April's thoughts for the next few days.

Danger. On the 'Net. But of what kind? And why would she be in danger? Not unless the threat found a way to materialize into the real world…

_And that hasn't happened since the Dark Power tired to take over both worlds…_ Of course, she was in harm's way when she went into full-syncro with Nocturne, but they hadn't attempted that since their battle with Lan and Megaman…

April shook her head, trying to clear her mind of these thoughts.

She spent as much time as she could working on Nocturne; trying to speed up the recovery process. With every day that passed, his body rebuilt, and missing data was replaced.

After lunch on the fourth day, her efforts were rewarded.

As she walked into the lab, carrying a pile of papers and discs, someone spoke.

"April…"

She looked up, surprised, and then dropped the papers and discs, jumping over chairs and weaving around desks to get to where Nocturne lay, looking over at her.

"Oh… Nocturne…" she whispered, pressing her hands to the screen, and leaning in close to his face. "You're awake…"

"What happened to me?"

"You don't remember?"

He shook his head, wincing a bit as he sat up; pain creeping up into his unused muscles. The camera zoomed out, and he was the same size as April. He placed his new right hand over hers.

"All I remember was the copy of that data, then it touched me right as I logged out… and I remember thinking of deletion, but hearing your voice call out to me… but that's it."

April sat down heavily in a chair. "You've been in a recovery program for… how long… five days." _It's only been five days?_ "You were seriously damaged, so I brought you here to recover."

"It took me five whole days to recover?"

"You were… attacked, I guess is the right word, by a bunch of this… this rogue data, it looked like. Tomahawkman and Protoman deleted it all, so we didn't get to study it."

"Dingo and Tomahawkman are here?"

"Yes and they're staying with us; now will you let me finish?"

Nocturne's cheeks colored a bit. "Yes. Sorry."

April smiled, so glad to be finally having a conversation with Nocturne again. Those five days had lasted for a long time, and she had felt so lonely with an empty PET.

"And some more days passed, nothing else happened, except that you recovered remarkably quickly considering how much damaged you had received. I'm just glad you're doing alright."

Nocturne nodded, then jumped up and started stretching. "I'm glad to be alive too. Anything else I need to know?"

April thought for a moment, watching her Navi go through a series of kicks, punches, and jumps, getting used to using his body after not moving for such a long time.

With a jolt, she remembered what Dingo had told her.

"Come back to the PET, and I'll tell you the rest in my office."

Nocturne nodded, disappearing, and then materialized on the small PET screen. "Let's go!" He said, pumping his fists into the air. "I've got a ton of energy and I need to do something with it."

Grinning widely, April put her PET in her pocket, then walked out from the room, stepping out and running full-tilt into Chaud.

Her _oof_ was muffled in his vest as he caught her and held her tightly. "Just the person I was looking for." He said, holding her out at arm's length. "Did Nocturne wake up just now?"

April nodded vigorously and jumped up and down in Chaud's arms. "He is! He is! He made it Chaud!"

Chaud smiled down at the happy April, but his smile quickly faded as he remembered why he had been looking for her for.

"Hey… April?" He started hesitantly.

She stopped jumping and looked up at his tone of voice. "What is it, Chaud?" she asked, instantly sensing that something was wrong. "What is it?" she repeated, when he didn't answer. She could feel his fingers figgiting against her back as he though how to best answer her.

"April…" he started, hesitated, then plowed forward. "What is the project you're working on?"

Worry flashed through April, but she tried to hide it by giggling. "What do you mean? I showed it to you already. The Data Freeze Program, remember?" Her voice cracked on the last word. Chaud frowned when he heard it.

_Crap. He knows._

Chaud shook his head slowly, his hair swinging gently in front of his eyes and brushing the top of April's head. "No. You know what I mean. And I want you to answer me honestly."

"What are you doing with Bass' data?"

* * *

HAHA!!! ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!! Please don't kill me. You won't find out what happens next otherwise.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW!!!!!!!! I'LL BE 18!!!!!!!!! WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited. I've been counting down for the longest time….

…….

Yes.

SHINY NINJAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joyful, joyful…. go band.

Dingo and Tomahawkman are awesome!!!!!!!

Next time!:

April just might tell Chaud exactly what she's doing! Will Chaud turn her in? and, what's this? Protoman is threatening Nocturne? This is Madness!!!

(don't push me in a hole. Then I can't continue writing.)

**Love me and review please.**


	11. Truth… and Hard Decisions

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 10

"Truth… and Hard Decisions"

April paled and stopped walking with Chaud's last question.

He stopped next to her. "Why did you copy his data April?" He asked her softly. "I hope you know that he's extremely angry now."

Nocturne looked up at April, then over at Chaud. "Is that why we're in danger?" He asked.

Chaud hesitated, and then nodded slowly. "Yes. Bass is searching for you… he wants that copy destroyed. If you alert him to your whereabouts, it would spell disaster for many."

April's eyes darted to the ground and she bit a corner of her lip. She mumbled to the floor.

"I need to show you something, Chaud." Turning abruptly, she walked to where her office was, her eyes still on the floor.

Nocturne placed his hand on the PET screen wishing, once again, that he was human, so he could reach out and touch April, comfort her…

"April…" he whispered.

She didn't look at him.

Once inside the small room, April turned and locked the door firmly closed. She walked over and slid the curtains shut, then turned to Chaud, pulling a disc out of her pocket as she did so.

"The data on this disc will answer a lot of your questions, Chaud. In return for showing you this, I ask of you one thing."

"Anything at all April. I will do it for you." Chaud said, sincerely, looking April right in the eye.

She spoke slowly, deciding carefully each word before it came out of her mouth. "I want you to let me finish this work before you turn me in to your superiors."

Chaud was taken aback. He blinked, and April turned around, loading the disc into her computer, and taking a seat in front of it.

"Please answer me Chaud." She said, not taking her eyes off the screen in front of her.

Chaud was backed into a corner, and he knew it. To say no would be to break April's trust. He absolutely could not do that. To say yes would be to defy his superiors, who could make what they want happen anyways, with or without Chaud's help. It was a no-win situation.

"I-I don't know, April…" he started, and she turned around in her seat to look intently up at him. "With all my heart, I want to say 'yes', I want you to do what you need to. But if I'm found out, you will get in trouble anyways and I won't be in a position to help you." He reached out to take her hand. "Please try to understand the situation April…"

His hand rested on hers briefly, before she pulled it away and turned back to the screen. "I understand."

Nocturne and Protoman materialized in the lower right-hand corner of the screen as April opened a bigger window. Data scrolled across the screen for a moment before it pulled away, like a curtain before a performance, to reveal to almost complete Requiem.

Chaud stepped close to the screen, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the Navi. "She... looks just like him." He whispered almost reverently. "And… wait… by the creation… April… she's breathing!"

There was a loud _crash_ as April jumped up and her chair went flying back into the desk behind her. She pushed Chaud away, staring closely at her creation.

"You're right…" she whispered in awe and puzzlement. "But… that's not right…" She started typing furiously on the keyboard in front of her. "She _is_ asleep… but… I haven't added the last part of the data yet… She shouldn't be functioning yet…"

"April!!" Nocturne's voice was urgent.

She snapped her head over, and screamed in fury.

"PROTOMAN!!!"

Protoman's cyber sword was drawn; the red blade was resting against Nocturne's neck, and the two Navi's were glaring at each other. "I can't back down on this April." He said. "You need to stop creating this… monstrosity… before it wakes and destroys us all." April's eyes narrowed in anger. "There can't be a second power like Bass in the world. And if you won't destroy it, then I will. And I will stop anyone," he pushed the sword closer to Nocturne's throat, and he winced as it cut into him, "anyone who gets in my way."

"Protoman! What is with you!" Chaud shouted. "Stop this madness at once! How do you know if this Navi will end up to be like Bass?"

"If she has his data, she has his emotions." Protoman replied coolly. ""She has taken in his hatred, his anger and, not to mention, his power. You remember what is was like when we fought against Bass those past few times, don't you Chaud?"

Chaud blinked and reached for his PET. _Something is wrong with Protoman..._

"Of course I remember. How could I forget pain like that? But we should give her a chance—"

"No!" Protoman interrupted. "April said it herself. The Navi is not complete yet. If we destroy it before completion—"

A blue bolt of lightning came streaking down from the sky, and engulfed Protoman. He froze where he was, then became transparent. His data flowed smoothly, filling into every centimeter of his body.

"That's enough Protoman." April said, her hands finally calming down from an extended, furious typing session, calling a bolt of the Data Freeze to stop him.

"Log him out quickly Chaud." She said, going over to the door and unlocking it. "That's the prototype Data Freeze. It won't last long against him. Go and run a diagnostics on him, find out what's wrong. You know Protoman better than I do, and even I could tell that something is not right with his programming." Chaud nodded and pulled out his PET, causing Protoman to disappear from next to Nocturne.

Nocturne relaxed, then fell to his knees, breathing heavily. April was next to him in an instant. "Are you alright?" she asked, worry showing clearly on her face.

He smiled up at her, though it looked more like a grimace. "I'm fine. Just… haven't experienced this much excitement in a long time… and I need to get used to it again." He too two deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly, then stood up. "See?" he said to April. "I'm perfectly alright."

The worry visibly disappeared from April's face, and she grinned widely at her Navi, much like a small child would.

"April." Chaud walked up behind her and enveloped her in a hug. "I'm sorry to cause you all this trouble." He whispered into her ear. "And I'm sorry for what Protoman did to Nocturne. To make it up to you…" He stopped, licked his suddenly dry lips, and spoke again. "To make up such a horrible scare… I've decided to wait until you're done, then see what to do from there."

April's heart leapt in her chest. She turned around and returned the hug, squeezing Chaud tightly. "However…" he continued. "Should anything go wrong, or anything unexpected happen, Protoman and I will have to step in and do what we were originally ordered to do."

April squeezed her both her eyes shut, even though tears could only flow from one. She nodded, not trusting her voice to not warble if she spoke.

Chaud leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "I'll come get you when we go to lunch." He smiled down at her. "Since you haven't been coming to eat with us, it's time you see what happens when Dingo and Tomahawkman eat lunch together."

April giggled, then squeezed him one more time before letting go and pushing him out the door.

"Hurry and fix Protoman. I don't want something like that happening again." He nodded and turned to go. April shut and locked the door behind her.

Sighing, she leaned her head against the old wood. "What kind of trouble have I gotten myself into Nocturne?"

"M-More than you know, I think."

She looked quizzedly down at her PET. Nocturne's eyes were wide, and he was pointing to the screen behind her. The hand he was holding out was shaking.

April turned slowly, pretty sure she knew what she was going to see, and not wanting to see it.

She was right. She had had a dream about it, after all.

Bass was glaring at her from the screen, his cape rippling at the edges, and a hand extended out from underneath.

"Did you think I would never find you, Human?" he whispered menacingly. April's eyes went wide as the feeling of déjà vu swept over her entire being.

Bass smirked at her obvious fear. He brought his hand up in front of him, then swept it out to the side, his hand hovering inches from the motionless Requiem's arm.

"I should just destroy her now." He whispered in the same tone of voice. "But your antics amuse me, Human. You took my data, and this is what you create."

April blinked. _What the crap did he just say?_

"I'll let your pathetic little 'project' live, and I will be watching your every step the rest of the way." His smirk widened into an evil grin. "I want to see how powerful a mere copy can be against the original." His grin widened even more, until he threw back his head and laughed, long, hard, and evilly. April stayed frozen and silent throughout this.

When Bass had finally stopped laughing, he lowered his hand, and it disappeared into the folds of his cape. The grinned faded quickly, and the intensity of his gaze on April grew. "Is it true… are you really the granddaughter of Dr. Cossack, my creator?" He asked, his voice down to a whisper again.

"Yes. Yes, it is true." She whispered back, nodding her head up and down to confirm what she was saying. The extra movement helped her to unfreeze, and she relaxed enough to finally blink.

Bass said nothing, just kept staring at her. After several moments that seemed to last for an eternity and a half for April, he turned away, looking for a moment at Requiem.

"Don't underestimate me Human. It will cost you the life of your creation, your Navi, and _you_. Don't ever forget what I am capable of."

He launched himself into the air, and was out of sight within mere seconds.

April's legs gave out from under her, and she fell into the other chair next to her desk, staring blankly at the spot Bass had disappeared from.

"Now I have no choice _but_ to finish…" she whispered to no one in particular.

Nocturne answered her back.. "You were planning to anyways, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, but now… now, instead of just finishing her, I have to _perfect_ her, if I don't want anyone to get hurt…"

She rubbed her eyes, and Nocturne saw her wipe the tear tracks from her face. He looked closer and saw the huge, dark circles under her eyes, making her look several years older, and more worn down.

Suddenly, she let out a burst of laughter.

"Are you glad to have woken up to this?" she asked Nocturne.

He had no answer for that.

* * *

FORGIVE ME!!!! I know it's been a long time! I blame school!!! You should too!!!

Marching Band season is finally over…. Yay and I cry at the same time…. sigh

Oh well….

……..

GO ROCKIES!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE REALLY SUCKING RIGHT NOW BUT THEY MANAGED TO GET TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!! NOW TRY TO WIN AT LEAST **ONE** GAME!!!!!!!!!!! (if that didn't just totally tell you where I live, and you live in the States…. Then go buy some brains that work from your local Wal-Mart. Or wherever. Just pay attention to life around you!!!)

I got an iPod for my birthday (the new Nano!) so I listened to over 100 songs during the duration of writing this chapter. And it's late at night. Again……………

Crap.

Oh well.

I'm being Link for Halloween.

Next year I'm gonna be Sherlock Holmes.

YAY!!!!! I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Yes…… '

……………………………………………………………………

'Screw the rules, I have money.' Genius.

Yes……

Next time!

We skip time to the next day. Chaud is working in the lab when he hears a scream come from April's office. Several screams, actually. Is she actually going to finish Requiem? Chaud, Lan, Dingo, and Dr. Hikari break down her door and find out!!

**Love me and review please!**


	12. Worries… and Pain

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 11

"Worries… and Pain"

(Point-of-View: Chaud Blaze, 3rd person)

_Tick… tick… tick… tick…_

The incessant ticking of the old-fashioned clock on the wall was the loudest sound in the room; underneath, the gentle whirring of his computer filled the room with a constant pulse.

Chaud sat with his head in his hands, sitting at his desk in his office, trying to keep awake by listening to the seconds tick by.

_Tick… tick… tick… tick…_

Yawning, his head lolled back, he forced his eyes open to look at the clock.

_It's almost midnight… this took longer than I thought… ah, well… I'm almost done._

Chaud stood up and stretched, then turned to the screen. Protoman was lying on the screen, several windows open in the area around him, and the recovery program's blue circles rotating around him.

As Chaud looked on, the program finished its work, the circles disappearing and the other windows closing. He leaned in towards the screen.

"How are you feeling, Protoman?"

The red Navi twitched, then stood up, nodding over to his NetOp.

"That was an unusual side effect…" He murmured, opening and closing his hands. "What did I do?"

Chaud rubbed his temple with his forefinger. "Well… you almost went berserk and nearly deleted Nocturne in the process… and you just spent all day recovering."

Protoman covered his face with his hands. "Oh, man… that's definitely not good." He looked up at Chaud. "Is Nocturne alright?"

"Yes. He was just a little shaken; he and April both." Chaud stood up and stretched, then plucked the PET out of its cradle. Protoman appeared, his head hanging slightly. Chaud blinked. "Protoman?"

Protoman bit his lip before responding. "Chaud… what is that thing called—it's a mythical force that says whatever you do to others will be paid back to you?"

"Karma?"

Protoman nodded thoughtfully. "That's it. We've been repaid for trying to stop April by seriously harming Nocturne."

Chaud seriously considered putting Protoman back into the recovery program. He wasn't sounding at all normal. "Are you feeling okay Protoman? You don't sound at all like yourself."

Protoman looked up at him, and a sad little smile spread over his lips. "But it's true, is it not?" He whispered.

Chaud had nothing to say back.

In the limo, Chaud sat back and thought about what Protoman had said. It was true that his viruses had backfired. If they had worked like they were supposed to, Nocturne would've been put out of action for several days, if not a week, or more. In that time, he could've thought of what to do about the Navi that April was creating without having anyone to know about it. Instead, one of the viruses got under Protoman's skin; dramatically changing his programming, and now April was proceeding along normally with the creation, which was not good. She needed to be stopped before any one else got hurt. Chaud leaned forward and put his face in his hands. _If only we hadn't destroyed all the viruses, I might be able to—wait a minute._

_Protoman wasn't the only one who fought against that virus…_ _Oh no…_

_Tomahawkman!!_

---

(Point-of-view: April Cossack, 3rd person)

April sat in front of her computer screen at home. The sun had just risen, the early morning light glinting dully off the metal on her face, the edges of which she was running her finger around. On the computer screen floated a sleeping Requiem.

_Today's the day…_

April's fingers glided over the smooth metal until they found what they were looking for: a small, barely noticeable, indent right above her temple. She applied a little pressure, and a part of the covering slid away, revealing a tiny data card in a little slot. Her fingers ran over the tissue paper-thin card; she gave it a little tug, and a pain erupted behind her eyes. She gasped, and a small purple spark flew out from it, lazily danced a few inches away from her face before it went out. April's hands flew to cover her eyes.

"Are you okay April?"

She looked up; Nocturne was looking at her from her PET, a concerned look on his face. She smiled—though it looked more like a grimace—trying to ignore the pain swarming beneath the machinery on her face.

"Yeah… I just need some pain-killers, that's all."

Nocturne looked over to the computer screen. "Is today the day, April? Is she going to be finished?" April nodded. "But then…" he continued. "You'll have to take that out today." He said, gesturing to her eye.

"I know… And it's not going to be pretty." April murmured. "You saw what happened when I just gave it a little tug. I don't want to know what will happen when I completely take it out…"

Nocturne watched gravely as she pushed the indent again and the door slid shut, hiding the card. "Well… you are losing a small part of your consciousness, it's only expected that it would hurt."

"Well… yeah… but I didn't think it would be that much." She sighed.

"Perhaps you should wait until the last minute. You might be in so much pain you wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else; you don't want to mess anything up."

She nodded "Yes… and I'll take a lot of pain-killers too… that might help a little bit…" Suddenly, a wide grin broke out on her face. "I can't believe it Nocturne. She'll finally be done. I wish Grandpa could see this day…"

She gazed at the screen, eyes unfocused.

"By the way… what are you doing up at dawn?"

April couldn't suppress a laugh. "Good point. I couldn't fall asleep, so I just wanted to make sure everything was fine with her." She glanced over at her clock, then stood up. "Guess I'd better start getting ready now…" she said, her alarm chirping over the end of her sentence. She smacked it, and then walked into the bathroom to start her shower.

Nocturne waited until he heard the water start running, then transferred over to the computer. Requiem floated several inches above the ground in front of him, her chest moving up and down slightly with her breathing.

He sat down, crossing his legs Indian-style, and leaned back, his arms spread out behind him. Unmoving, he sat and watched her breathe; the only sound was the rushing of water in the pipes behind the walls.

_She_ is _rather pretty…_ he though, a slight blush rushing to his cheeks. _If the situation were more normal, maybe we could…_ His face went even redder as the thought entered his mind. He shook his head vigorously, his dark ponytail flying all around, trying to chase the thought away. _If the situation were normal, we wouldn't be in this situation._ He blinked. _Wait a minute… that didn't make sense…_

Abruptly, the water stopped running. Nocturne jumped up in surprise, glancing over at the door. It remained closed. His shoulders relaxed, and his gaze turned back upon Requiem. He walked closer; soon they were standing nose to nose.

"Perhaps…" he whispered. "Perhaps… you just might make a different choice than what April might think. Perhaps…"

The corner of her mouth twitched. Nocturne drew in a sharp, quick breath. He started to lean in closer, when he heard the turning of the doorknob behind him. Within a moment, he was back on the PET, his back faithfully turned away from April as she started to get ready.

---

(Point-of-view: Chaud Blaze, 3rd person)

Chaud walked slowly out of his office, his hands in his pockets, his eyes closed. He had just reached the screen when the lab door slid open behind him.

"Hey Chaud!"

Chaud turned at the sound of Dingo's voice. "Hello Dingo. How are you and Tomahawkman doing?"

Dingo's grin was wide. "Better than ever!"

Chaud tilted his head slightly out of confusion. "Nothing's wrong? Tomahawkman hasn't been acting… different lately?"

Dingo's smile shrunk a little. "No… Should he be?"

"Never mind. Forget that I asked." Chaud waved the question away and turned back around, relief flooding though him. _So nothing happened to Tomahawkman after all. That's good to know…_

Dingo gave him a strange look, then shrugged and headed to his office.

The door opened again behind Chaud. He turned around quickly and saw April walking by, her eyes on the ceiling and her mind obviously preoccupied.

"April." He said.

She gave a start and looked at him with wide eyes. "Oh… hello… Chaud." She strangled out before walking away again.

Chaud stepped right in front of her, forcing her to stop. "What are your plans for today, April?" He asked, his voice overly casual.

"Oh, you know. Just work as usual."

"Not today, April." He whispered.

She glanced up at him, astonished. "What?" She asked, her voice low.

Gently, he wrapped his hands around her arms. "I'm not going to let you finish that program." He said, just as softly as before.

She tried to step back, but his gripped her upper arms tightly, and she winced. "What are you talking about Chaud? Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm feeling just fine. I've made my decision." The color drained from her face. "I need to stop you before any one else gets hurt." He continued. "You have no idea about the power you are playing with."

Her eyes narrowed. "_I_ have no idea? You're kidding right? Do you have any idea about how much damage with be wrought if I _don't_ finish?" His grip slackened a tiny bit. "Get out of my way Chaud. My life depends on my being able to finish."

"What are you talking about? Don't tell me that—"

She pushed his hands away. "My very life is at stake Chaud, not to mention Nocturne's, and even possibly this entire facility. I'll ask you nicely again. Please get out of my way."

He shook his head. "I can't April…"

Her hands clenched into fists. "So that's it, is it?"

"Wha—"

"You care to keep your job more than you do to keep me alive, is that it?" April looked up sharply at him, hot tears gathering in the corner of her eye, and her voice rising in volume.

"No, no, April… Please calm down…" He reached to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she roughly shoved him away. "April?"

"Just. Let. Me. Through." She said through clenched teeth.

"No."

"Get out of my way Chaud."

"No."

"Get out of my way Chaud!"

"No."

"April, relax!" Nocturne yelled from her side. She ignored him.

"Get out of my way!!"

"No."

"JUST MOVE!!!" She screamed, shoving him in the chest with all her strength, then ran past him, slamming the door and turning the lock.

Chaud was caught off guard by April's push, and he lost his balance, fell backwards, and soundly knocked his head on the sharp corner of a desk.

"Chaud!" A new voice pierced through his new headache. He groaned, and his eyes fluttered open. Lan and Dingo's faces swam into view.

"Are you okay Chaud?" Lan asked, helping Chaud to sit up.

"Do I look like I feel?" He replied, placing his hand where he had hit his head. He pulled it away from his sticky-feeling hair; his palm was splashed with red. "Ngh…" he bit his lower lip against the sick feeling rising in his stomach.

"That looks painful." Said Dingo, holding onto Chaud to keep him from swaying. "Why did April push you? A lover's quarrel?" He smirked, a teasing note in his voice.

Chaud ignored him, instead used Lan and Dingo's shoulders as levers to pull himself up to a standing position, ignoring the wave of pain the motion sent through his skull.

"That's not important. We need to stop April." He looked directly at Lan. "She going to complete _it_ if we don't."

Lan's eyes grew wide, and he grabbed onto Chaud's arm, helping him run over to April's office. When they were several feet away, a scream suddenly erupted from behind the wooden door. They jerked to a halt.

"What's going on here?" Dr. Hikari walked up to the boys. "Is everything all right? I thought I heard April scream just now."

"She did." Chaud said, uselessly jiggling the doorknob. "We need to break it down."

He backed up, and Dingo rushed to join him. Chaud looked over at him. "On three, ready? On—"

"Three!"

They rushed forward, slamming their shoulders into the wood. Chaud wobbled off, clutching at the back of his head.

"You take my spot Lan."

"Three!"

_Slam._

"Three!"

_Slam._

"Why do these doors have such good locks?" Chaud muttered to Dr. Hikari, who shrugged.

"Three!"

_Slam._

Another scream came from behind the door, and they gave each other panicked looks. Lan and Dingo backed up several more steps before charging with all they had.

"Three!"

_Crash!_

The door finally gave, and the four men rushed into the room. Chaud elbowed his way past the others, expecting the worst.

A bright flash of light blinded them, and a high-pitched, maniacal laugh rang through the room. When the light faded, the sight that greeted them made them all gasp in horror and cry out.

"APRIL!!!"

* * *

CLIFFHANGER!!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Yawn.

I'm tired.

And I still have to get up early tomorrow.

Groan.

Yeah… I had to go back to school a couple of days ago… bleargh. That's why it took me forever to get this done…

That… and the fact that I had writer's block for several days….

……

I HAVE SO MUCH FREAKIN' HOMEWORK!!!! IT'S NOT COOL, DANG IT!!!!!

But it's my last semester of high school!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!

Btw…I'm the dance captain in the school's musical (We're doing 'Urinetown'… yuck. This is not going to be a happy rehearsal period…) and I'm in the pit (the people that play the music and instruments, for all you non-theatre people out there) so I'll get even _less_ work done……

Sigh……

But now I'll leave you to ponder what it is that made them all cry out in fear… bwahahahahaha…

Next time:

We go back a couple of moments in time to April's point of view, and we find out what exactly it was that made her scream in pain, who—or what—gave the maniacal laugh, and what it is the boys saw when they finally broke into her office…

Ohh… I'm so mean….

**LOVE ME AND REVIEW PLEASE**


	13. Awakening… and Revenge

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 12

"Awakening… and Revenge"

"JUST MOVE!!"

April shoved Chaud with all her might, then ran past him as he fell, not bothering to look back when she heard the _clunk_ of his head on the desk.

Panting, she shut her door and slammed the lock closed. Closing her eyes, she rested her forehead against it, and let the tears run freely for a moment.

But only for a moment. She roughly rubbed her eye before turning to the computer and pulling out the disc that contained Requiem. The window opened once again, and she was floating in front of April.

She typed furiously, then stopped, and sighed with relief. All that was left now… She pressed the indent in her temple, and the trap door slid open. As she braced herself to pull the card out, she heard footsteps running to her door. She gave a start, bumping the card in the process, and sending a bolt of pain though her head. She whimpered, but grabbed it again and pulled.

Pain rushed across her nerves, sending every limb into momentary spasms. A shower of purple sparks erupted from the empty slot in her head, and they danced around her shaking frame. April screamed loudly, and fell to her knees.

Nocturne watched on in horror, not able to say anything or even move.

_Slam._

April ignored the pounding at the door—it couldn't come close to the pounding in her head—and climbed to shaky feet. It took her fingers a moment to remember how to close the slot. As she pulled away her hand, blood dripped from her face onto the desk.

_Slam._

She looked at the card, and wiped the blood on her lab jacket. Her blurred vision turned to the data slot in her computer; she raised the card, her hand shaking so badly from the pain that it took her several tries before she finally managed to get it in.

_Slam._

She stumbled over to the keyboard, smearing blood where her right hand touched any surface. Nocturne was pressed against the screen, trying to get as close to April as he could. "Oh… April…" he whispered.

_Slam._

There was a flash as the program containing her data opened. The sudden light sent another fresh wave of pain through her eyes, and she screamed again, her fingers fumbling over the keyboard. Nocturne jumped up, grabbed April's data and dragged it over to Requiem's window. "Ready April?" He called.

She nodded, biting her lower lip, and her shaky fingers flew over the keyboards once again. Nocturne shoved the data towards Requiem.

_Crash!_

As the door crashed in, a blinding white light enveloped April, slowing time down, and giving her a moment to rise to her feet. She looked around. Her office had been whitewashed, the people frozen, and white. A low chuckle came from behind her.

"So, you've finally finished." Bass said, stepping from the computer to stand right in front of April. "I was starting to get bored." April took an involuntary step back. "Now it's time I finish my part." Bass walked away from her and walked over to Requiem, his hand appearing from beneath his cape. His fingers hovered for a moment, and then grazed the side of Requiem's elbow. There was another blinding white flash, and Bass' laugh echoed all around April, increasing the pain in her head ten fold.

As the world returned to its normal time, April's knees buckled beneath her, and she fell to her knees, her hands covering her eye. Dimly, she heard someone yell her name behind her—the voice was so familiar! —But she ignored it, and instead looked up at the screen.

Streams of data swirled around the Navi, her head was thrown back, he arms dangling, and her eyes still closed. Déjà vu swept over April as memories of her grandfather's stories came flooding to the forefront of her mind. Suddenly, she knew the words that she had to say: the words that her grandfather had rehearsed to her so many times before.

"Requiem… You are, in essence, the worlds _second_ NetNavi capable of wholly independent function…" she struggled to her feet as she said this, and limped over to the screen, putting her face right next to Requiem's. "A _true artificial intelligence_ that will work with the other to open the way to an improved network culture!"

The Navi slowly opened her eyes. April blinked in surprise.

One was red; the same murderous shade as Bass' own, and the other was the same bright yellow as her false eye.

They stared at each other for a moment, and April smiled. "Hello… Requiem."

The Navi blinked. "Requiem…" She said. "Is that my name?" Her voice was soft and piercing, it carried the same musical intonation as her namesake. "Requiem." She said again, as though tasting the flavor of it on her tongue. "I like it!" She suddenly broke into a big smile. "It's a very nice name… Did you think of it?" She addressed April.

"Yes." April smiled at Requiem. "Yes, I did."

"And who… are you?"

April's head rose at the question. "I… I am your creator." Requiem blinked, then looked down at her hands, opening and closing them.

"Then… what are you named? Do you have a nice name like mine?"

April smiled again. "That depends on what you think is nice. My name is Dr. April Cossack."

"April…" Requiem let the name roll off her tongue again. "My creator… Are you all right?!"

April let her hand fall, and drops of blood appeared on the table, as she swayed and her legs threatened to collapse again. Chaud came up from behind and caught her, setting her gently in her chair.

"Such is the weakness of humans."

Requiem turned to see the speaker, and was startled. _He looks… somewhat like me…_ she thought. Instead, she asked: "And who… are you?"

He glanced up at her sharply, and Requiem felt a tremor flow through her body. Her first taste of fear.

"You don't know me?"

Requiem looked at him closely, tilting her head slightly to the side. "I have no idea who you are." She said. "But do you have a nice name, like me and my creator?"

"Your creator?" He spat. "Already you have such strong ties to 'your creator'?" His pointed teeth were bared in a snarl. Requiem's smile faded, and her hands dropped to her sides. She did not know who this Navi was, but for some reason, she felt... connected to him.

"Is there… something wrong with that?" She asked hesitantly.

"Not unless you're willing to be betrayed." He snarled back. "You have no idea what had to happen for you to be created, do you?"

Requiem, taken aback by the venom in the question, shook her head.

"They each gave up part of themselves." Came a new voice from behind Requiem. She glanced back and saw Nocturne staring down at the unconscious April.

"Who are you?"

Nocturne met her gaze evenly. "I am April's Net Navigator." He held his hand out. "My name is Nocturne."

Requiem didn't see the proffered hand. "What do you mean they gave up a part of themselves?"

Nocturne sighed and let his hand drop by his side. "In order for you to fully awaken, you needed data to serve your purpose. April and Bass supplied that data."

"My purpose?"

"You were created to be an independent Navi, and… you were created to be the partner of the only other one like you in existence." He added, gesturing to Bass.

"Really." Bass replied, dryly. "Dr. Cossack came up with this himself? I never knew that this… girl that was to be my partner."

"It was… to be a… surprise." April said weakly, standing up from her chair. "Grandpa was going to tell you, but then the Alpha Revolt occurred, erasing Requiem's original data, and driving you away."

"You humans betrayed me!" Bass screamed. "You are the ones that drove me away! You so-called scientists took away my life, my whole world!! So now I will take away the thing dearest to you!! EARTHBREAKER!!" A huge jet of white energy shot from Bass' outstretched hand, directed straight at Nocturne. He gasped, and the beam hit, flashing brighter, and blinding anyone looking at it. Smoke flooded the screen.

"NOCTURNE!!" April screamed, running to the screen, all pain forgotten. "Nocturne! Nocturne!! Nocturne!! Not again!! Please, not again!!" Tears fell down both sides of her face as she pressed her hands against the screen, sobbing.

"I think I understand you now, Bass." Came Requiem's voice from behind the smoke. "Your hatred of the human race, and the rage at your betrayal. But I know one thing that you do not." The smoke cleared, showing Requiem standing several meters in front of Bass, her own hand reaching out towards him.

"I know the other side of the story, and your creator's role in it. You were not betrayed Bass. _He tried to save you._" Bass blinked, surprise flashing across his face. "As your partner, I wish for you to stop this pointless destruction, and let the humans and their Navis leave in peace."

The smoke cleared completely, and April gasped again. Requiem was standing in front of Nocturne, and a huge gully had been carved to either side of them. Nocturne had fallen down, and his eyes were wide, staring up at Requiem.

"She saved his life…" April heard Chaud whisper. "But… why? She has Bass' data… his rage and anger… why would she put her life on the line for another Navi, one who she _should_ prefer to see dead?"

It was silent a moment, then Dr. Hikari answered. "Because she has April's data too."

Bass lowered his hand, then threw back his head and laughed. "You think that just because you wish it, that I'll stop, just like that? Ha ha!! I don't think so! I have vowed revenge upon humanity, and I will destroy anyone that gets in my way!" He threw back his arms and flung off his cloak, revealing the scar on his Navi mark. Dark purple light started to gather around his hands.

"Come. Let us see which is better: the original, or the copy."

Requiem lowered her arm, and then closed her mismatched eyes. "Very well."

"No Requiem, you can't!" April cried, wincing at the pain in her head.

Requiem turned to look at her. "I'm sorry, April, but I must. I feel that it is something I must do."

"Then let us help you!" Megaman called, running up with Protoman and Tomahawkman.

Requiem sighed, lifted a hand, and fired an Earthbreaker. The three Navis stopped, the tops of all their heads singed black. Silently, Protoman reached up and pinched out a little flame on one of Tomahawkman's feathers.

Requiem glared at them. "I said, I can handle this on my own. Now go before you get deleted."

Megaman clenched his hand into a fist to keep it from shaking. It was obvious to see now that Requiem had some of Bass' data! When she glared at him just now, the same feeling of fear that Bass always gave him ran through his body.

"Well then, good luck. You're gonna need it."

Requiem grinned, a little bit of Bass showing through the gesture. "Thanks, but I don't think I do. Who better than me to face him?"

Megaman nodded, then logged out, followed closely by Protoman and Tomahawkman, who was feeling the top of his feathers.

Nocturne stood. "Thank you for saving me, Requiem. Please be safe."

She winked. "Don't worry. I'll stay in one piece."

"Log out Nocturne." April said, pulling her PET from the cradle on her desk, then she collapsed into her chair. "Dr. Hikari." She said. Lan's dad rushed forward.

"Are you feeling all right April? Do I need to call the hospital?"

April shook her head, the area behind her eye pulsing whenever she moved. "No. I'm in great pain right now, but that doesn't matter. You need to get everyone and their Navis evacuated right now. I have a feeling that this fight is going to be a rough one."

He nodded, then ran out the room, pulling Lan and Dingo behind him. Chaud followed, pausing at the door. "Aren't you coming, April?"

She looked at him, then shook her head wearily. "Requiem is my creation. I just can't abandon her when things might get rough for me."

"Then I'm staying with you."

"No Chaud. Go and help with the evacuation. Make sure that everyone is safe. Don't worry about me. I'll be back. I made a promise to my grandfather, and I am _not_ going back on my word to him... or to Requiem."

Chaud opened his mouth to say something, but April had turned back to the screen, breathing hard and pressing a hand against her eye. Chaud grit his teeth, then turned and left.

_Come back to me April…_

Bass glared over at April, the energy in his fists humming gently. "So there is one human who would choose to die with her creation." He turned his glare onto Requiem, who gazed coolly back. "Even so… you do not have enough power to defeat me!"

Requiem settled into a fighting stance, balls of white energy gathering around her fists.

"We shall see, Bass. We shall see."

* * *

Dun dun dun!! Bwahahahahaha…. yawn

I think this is a worse cliffhanger than the last chapter.

I'm done with school!! Which means this story is almost done!!

Next time!

UBER FIGHT!! As Requiem and Bass fight, Chaud and the others scramble to evacuate the building. April stays in her office, watching the 2 Navis battle. After a very short time, it becomes obvious that they are equal in strength. Who will win? Who will survive? Or will Requiem and Bass destroy each other and everything around them?

**LOVE ME AND REVIEW PLEASE**


	14. The Battle… and a Revelation

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening  
Chapter 13  
"The Battle… and a Revelation"

The two Navis stared at each other, the balls of energy in their hands humming gently. April sat in her chair, her hand pressed over her eye. The tension was so thick April could almost taste it.

A sweatdrop appeared on Nocturne's head. _How cliché…_ he thought.

"Nocturne?" April whispered, breaking into his thoughts.

"Yes April?"

"You'll stay with me, right?"

Nocturne sighed. "I'd be an idiot you leave you now. I mean, come on! This is getting good!" He looked up at April. The hand covering her eye was shaking. He sighed again.

"Don't worry April. She'll be fine, I'm sure of it. Anything that Bass can throw at her, she can dish right back. If things get too hairy, you need to _get out right away._ Okay?"

April bit her lip.

"Promise me April."

She hesitated. "All right. I will."

Nocturne nodded, then turned back to the screen with Requiem and Bass.

- - -

Bass glared at Requiem for a moment longer, then closed his eyes and chuckled. Requiem felt her eyes narrow.  
"What's so funny?"

Bass smirked. "The fact that you want to face me. You just signed your own death sentence. I hope you're prepared for deletion."

Requiem smirked right back. "I hope _you're_ prepared to get your butt kicked."

In a blink, Bass' smirk changed to a snarl. "Prepare to be deleted, gnat!"

Requiem shifted her stance slightly. "Bring it on." She taunted.

They glared for another moment more, and then they both disappeared. April blinked, and they reappeared for a split second as the two Navis impacted; the strength of their blows cracking the ground beneath them. They disappeared again, moving too fast for April to follow. She could see small flashes where they would hit, but it looked like neither had the advantage so far.

There was another flash, and two punches connected; Requiem and Bass flew in opposite directions, carving gullies in the ground. They were both back up on their feet and rising into the air.

"It seems we are evenly matched Bass." Requiem noted.

Bass smirked again. Purple streaks of lightning started to swirl around his body. "I'm not too sure of that…" he said, before being enveloped in a white light. The light faded and his form had changed slightly. The stripes on his body and the star on his head started to shimmer different colors. This gloves and boots darkened and changed color also.

"Bass…Hubstyle!" He cried, and then disappeared.

Requiem blinked, then was hit from above, sending pain shooting through her left shoulder as she landed, blowing a large crater into the ground.

Bass aimed his hand straight down at her. "Earthbreaker!" He yelled, and fired. "DIE!"

The Earthbreaker connected, blowing an even lager crater. Bass smirked, then his eyes narrowed. "What?"

A figure flew up out of the smoke. Requiem smirked, her form changed slightly also. "Thank you for showing me how to work the Get-Ability Program Bass." He stared at her.

"Your form…" he muttered.

"Requiem… Hubstyle!!" She cried. Bass snarled, and Requiem smirked again. "I have the same powers as you, remember? That includes every form and power you have copied! Earthbreaker!"

Bass' eyes had enough time to widen then the blast hit him, smacking him several feet into the wall. Requiem's smirk widened.

April and Nocturne sat watching in awe. April's hand fell into her lap. "Unbelievable…" she whispered. "I created her?"  
Bass growled and launched himself off the wall, landing a punch squarely on Requiem's cheek, sending her flying. He quickly flew past her and kicked her in the back, then flew past her again, hitting her all the way with a devastating series of punches and kicks. Requiem grunted, then threw up her arms to block some of the blows. She finally managed to dodge and flew out of range of Bass' attacks, panting.

She charged up energy in her hands again. "Earthbreaker!"

Bass smirked and let the beam fire straight at him. "Reflection." He whispered. The beam didn't hit… it curved around his body and straight back at the surprised Requiem.

- - -

Several floors below, Chaud turned on a monitor to see what was happening. He saw Requiem fire the second Earthbreaker at Bass and he felt a small bubble of hope rise in him that was just a quickly popped by what happened next.

Bass summoned and used the ability he had taken from Serenade.

Chaud felt the old anger and pain rise up in him again. He grit his teeth, thinking of how casually he used Serenade's power…

He glanced up at the screen just in time to see what happened next.

- - -

Requiem nearly panicked when she saw her own blast being reflected back at her. She ran a quick analysis of Bass' attack and searched her own data for the same thing. As she activated this new power, she felt the Hubstyle fade away.  
"Reflection." She whispered, and the blast curved around her and flew harmlessly into the ground.

Bass smirked. "You may have all of my abilities, but you do not have the power or the skill to use more than one at a time…" he gazed harder at her, and noticed she was breathing hard. "And it seems you can not use them for very long either."

Requiem squeezed her hands into fists. "Says who? Hubstyle!" A white light enveloped her, and she changed into the Hubstyle form again. "See?" She challenged Bass, bringing her fists up to bear. "I can still take you on in any form I choose!" She disappeared.

Bass smirked, and then closed his eyes.

April gasped. "He just closed his eyes! Why did he do that if he knows that Requiem's going to attack him using Hubstyle?"

Nocturne gulped, not wanting to give her the bad news. "It's because his skill level is much higher than Requiem's… her power level, and her ability to stretch it out and focus it, has not been honed as Bass'…"

April's hand flew to her mouth and she looked, horrified, down at Nocturne. "You don't mean…?"

He nodded grimly. "Even though they have the same amount of power, there are gaps in their abilities… and Bass knows what he is doing."  
_  
BOOM! CRASH!  
_  
April screamed as one of her two monitors shattered from the force of Requiem hitting the wall behind it. The hot shards flew all around her, scratching and burning her exposed arms and hands. She ignored the pain and looked up at the remaining cracked screen and saw a horrifying sight.

Requiem was still in her Hubstyle form, but it was fading in and out. Bass had knocked her into the wall, shattering the monitor, and had kicked her back into the air, delivering an unrelenting flurry of blows. Requiem cried out in pain as he blew her into another wall with both fists. April gasped.

A figure came bursting through the half-closed door behind her, startling both her and Nocturne.

"It's time to go April!" Chaud announced, running over to her. "We've gotten everybody else out, and the building is starting to feel the effects of this fight. You need to leave."

April just glanced up at him. "I can't leave Requiem, Chaud!" She cried, gesturing to the screen. "She needs me to be there for her! I need to stay here and make sure…" she hesitated. Chaud merely folded his arms. April looked at him again, gulped, and then continued on. "I need to make sure that she doesn't feel abandoned like Bass did… If that happened, then the same result would come about, only now, there would be _two_ powerful Navis running around who want to destroy each other…"

"Don't… worry… about me… April."

April turned back to the screen and saw Requiem, who had changed back to her normal form, looked severely scratched, and crawling out of the new hole in the wall. April blinked, and the damage faded. Requiem smiled at her astonishment.  
"You don't need to worry about me April. I will be perfectly all right. I know that you wouldn't abandon me… but you do need to leave…" April's jaw dropped, and Requiem continued. "I've been holding back. I didn't want to harm you in any way, but now I see that it's not possible to stop Bass without doing that unless you leave."

April didn't move.

Requiem smiled. "Go April. I'll be fine. I promise."

Chaud walked over and picked up April in a cradle hold. "Good luck Requiem." He said before he left with April in his arms. Her eyes never left the screen.

Requiem heard a decisive chuckle behind her. "Are you done with being sentimental?" She turned and saw Bass floating behind her.

He smirked, and she turned the full power of her glare onto him. He blinked. Satisfied, Requiem smirked, and then activated Hubstyle once more.

"Well now… do I have your full attention this time?" He asked.

"Absolutely." She answered.

"How nice…"

"Bass!!" Requiem cried, clenching her hands into fists. "I'll make you understand, even if that means taking you down!!"

There was a pause, and the two leapt at each other, the battle moving faster and deadlier than before. Requiem landed a punch on Bass' cheek, and he flew to the ground, blowing in a massive crater. She pointed her palms down flat at him, and charged up a massive ball of energy.

"Hyper Earthbreaker!" She cried, and launched it down at Bass. Smoke and debris billowed up around the point of impact.  
_  
Did I… win?_ She thought.

The smoke cleared, and she felt her breath catch in her chest. Bass' form had changed _again_. His stripes changed to a dark red, the crystal on his head changed to the shape of a bird, he had grown claws on his hands and feet and, most noticeably, _he had wings._

"I must admit, you did fight well, Requiem." Bass said, rising to the same height as her. "But now, I'll end this."

- - -

"Nocturne, see if you can open a window into SciLab. I want to see what's happening."

He nodded, and stepped aside as a new window opened on the PET. April gasped. "He's changed form… what is it?" She tilted the PET so that Chaud could see it.

He glanced down, and halted suddenly, almost dropping April.

"That's his…." Chaud gulped. "Beast Out form…"

April's eyes widened. "His…oh no…" She tilted the PET back towards herself.

"Run Requiem!!"

- - -

Requiem cocked her head to the side. _What's this form?_ She ran the image through the part of Bass' data she had and searched through his memories.

"Beast Out?" She whispered, watching the memories of the near destruction of the Earth fly through her mind. "What power…" She looked up at Bass and her breath caught in her throat again. He was standing right in front of her. _What speed…_ she thought.

Bass raised a hand, sparks played out from his fingers. "It's over." He said, and grabbed Requiem's Navi mark.  
She screamed. Her Hubstyle faded instantly, as Bass drained away her power.  
_  
N-No…_She thought. _This cannot be the… end…_ She grit her teeth.

"NO! This…is not… the end… Bass!" She grabbed his hand, and pointed the other in his face. "E-Earthbreaker!"

Bass screamed as he took the beam point-blank, crashing into the wall, his Beast form flickering. Requiem was doubled over, panting and sweating, as her power slowly came back. Bass faded back to his normal form, panting also. They were both covered in cuts and spots on their chests were de-rizzing.

"Why… do you insist… on destroying… humanity… Bass?" Requiem asked, clutching her Navi Mark and straightening up.

Bass' eyes darkened. "You… who has a portion of my data… why are you asking me this? You, of anyone, should understand the rage and betrayal I felt at the hands of those so-called scientists. Why do you insist on protecting those who hate us for the power we hold?"

Requiem grinned through the pain. "Because they need _our_ help. We were to work together to help humans understand our world better. If the Alpha revolt hadn't happened, erasing my original data…" Requiem smiled up at Bass. "I would've been created, and you would've been completed."

"Wha—?" Bass' eyes widened. " 'Completed'?" He clutched at his head. "No…that can't be… no!" He glared wildly up at Requiem, sending another shiver of fear down her back. "No! I am as complete as I will ever be! I don't need a gnat like you bothering me every step of the way. I am the ultimate NetNavi! I don't need anyone! Earthbreaker!!"

Requiem closed her eyes, a sad sigh escaping her lips, and the beam hit, sending pulses of pain through every fiber of her being. The beam passed. She glanced at Bass one more time, and she felt herself slowly start to fall. _Is this… the end… for me?_

Bass let his hatred take over. He watched Requiem start to fall, and then he flew over to her side, and grabbed her neck. His fingers tightened, and his grin widened. He kept his grip and flew straight down, slamming her into the ground. Requiem coughed, splattering blood down her front, her breathing becoming more and more labored.

"I told you, didn't I?" He whispered, squeezing tighter. "It's over."

Requiem gasped for air, and looked him straight in the eye. "Is… it?"

Bass felt his breath catch. He blinked to make sure he wasn't seeing things. No… he wasn't. Requiem was…_crying?_  
A single pearly tear slid down her cheek. "I was… hoping… ho-hoping… to make you… u-understand… every… thing…"  
"What?" Bass felt his lips curl back into a snarl, and his grip tightened. _Why is she crying? Navi's don't have the capacity to cry! Where did this tear come from?_ Requiem whimpered, unable to scream.

"Th-This… is the… only… way…"

The tear dripped off her cheek onto the back of Bass' hand.

The data contained in the tear raced up into his mind, instantly assimilated and processed. Bass gasped as he saw images from April's memory of the recordings of the Alpha revolt, and the things that Dr. Cossack did, including the Get-Ability Program. He saw his own creation, and the beginnings of Requiem's. He felt confused as the human emotions swept through his system, all at once. Joy, pain, regret, hope… these were things that he had never felt before…  
Bass let go of Requiem, and clutched at his head again, moaning. "What… what is this? What have you shown me?!" He glared over at Requiem, but it was only half-hearted.

Requiem sat up massaging her throat. "What really happened… and the reason that Dr. Cossack created me… to help you…"

Bass still sat, clutching at his mind, wishing to erase what he had just seen. He heard the shuffling of debris and Requiem crawled closer to him, wincing with each movement. Suddenly, he felt something he had never before. His eyes widened.

- - -

April gasped and covered her mouth. "I don't believe it…" Chaud, Lan, Dingo, and Dr. Hikari all felt their jaws drop open. They were all crowded around April's PET watching the fight and what had just happened.

Requiem was hugging Bass.

"You are recording this, right Nocturne?" April asked, unable to tear her eyes away from this strangest of sights.  
He nodded, unable to speak.

"We've got to show this to Grandpa…"

- - -

Requiem smiled. "Come Bass. It is time I showed you everything."

He said nothing, but he didn't resist. He was still overwhelmed by the sudden rush of emotion that it was taking him a while to fully analyze it.

Requiem looked up at the screen that April was watching through and smiled kindly.

"Thank you April, and… good-bye."

There was a sudden rush of sound as the two Navis—Requiem still holding onto Bass—logged out of the SciLab system and vanished into the Net.

* * *

There. I finished. Are you all happy now?  
And just so you know, swearing at me in a review and telling me to hurry up won't make me write any faster. It's not my fault that I had major writer's block. I think I've told you all this: fights scenes are my weakness as a writer. I just can't seem to get them right. So I wanted this to be good, so it took me a while, (and several conversations with my cousin) to finally get this on track.  
Huff just ask me nicely next time, ok? Sheesh…  
Next time!!  
We're almost to the end. We find out what happened to SciLab during the battle, and what's happening to April in the aftermath. And wait! What's this? What's happening to Dr. Cossack?  
**Love me and Review NICELY please!!**


	15. Memories… and Trust

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 14

"Memories… and Trust"

"So she's gone? With Bass?"

"For the third time, yes April."

April sat, slightly in shock, along with the rest of the group from the lab. All around them were scientists, curiously looking on as firefighters rushed into the building and paramedics wandered through the crowd, looking for injuries.

The lab building was still standing, but shakily. The Net within had just as much of a beating as Requiem and Bass, and it was showing—shattered windows and monitors, cracked and dented walls, and a small trail of smoke trickling out of a window on the top floor.

April was kneeling on the ground, her hair covering the blood-streaked side of her face.

"Do you know where she went?"

Nocturne shook his head. "I can't find her. Her signal disappeared once they entered the UnderNet."

April sighed and rested her arm on the top of her knee, vaguely hearing the voices of the paramedics draw closer.

"I guess that's that, then." She muttered.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Miss, are you all right?" Once of the paramedics, this one with shiny brown hair, knelt next to April. She looked, dazed, over at him.

"Probably not."

A small smile stretched his lips. "Let's get you going then."

He bent down and picked her up, turning a medic's eye to the rest of the group.

"You all had best come along too… Let us patch you up. Come on."

He turned and carried April over to the ambulance, everyone else traipsing behind.

"So she's gone, Nocturne?"

The Navi held in an exasperated sigh.

"Yes, she's gone April."

"Oh…" Her unfocused eyes turned to the PET screen. "That's rather… sad. I was hoping to show her to Grandpa before she left… Hmm… I feel… so… tired… Nocturne… I'm going to take… a nap…"

He reached out, holding both palms against the screen, wishing again, with all his heart, that he could be human. "Go to sleep April… I'll wake you up later."

Her mismatched eyes closed, and a small smile lit her face. "Thank you… I can always count on you Nocturne…"

- - -

_At the hospital…_

Nocturne sat in the monitors in April's room, scowling at the other monitors. There was nothing worth scowling at, but he felt the need to scowl at something. April was asleep. On the table next to her were curved metal plates with an eye-shaped hole in the middle. Her right eye was buried under bandages, and an I.V. was stuck in her arm.

This scene looked all too familiar to Nocturne.

_It's almost like it was all those years ago…_ He thought, his scowl deepening. _And once again, I was useless._

His fists clenched, and an uncharacteristic anger and depression melted over his frame. _I wish there was a way to become human… then I could truly be of great help to her…_

His anger abated slightly as wistfulness took over. He sat and opened up a small window in front of him.

_Perhaps I can still do something…_ He thought as he ran his fingers over the screen. _Now… where did you go, Requiem?_

The data flew through his mind, processed and, if not found useful, immediately discarded. The small portion of his mind that he kept out of the search was reminiscing. Requiem's creation had been so different from his own…

- - -

_7 Years Earlier…_

_Dr. Cossack smiled as he leaned back in his chair, typing in the final command on his keyboard: _RUN: PROGRAM: NOCTURNE. EXE.

_The progress bar popped up on his screen, and he settled back, watching it fill. After a few moments, the computer pinged, then a new message flashed on the screen: _PROGRAM COMPLETE: NOCTURNE. EXE.

_The message disappeared, and Nocturne's Navi symbol lit up--an original design by Dr. Cossack himself: a big purple X was surrounded by four yellow triangles, all lying against a black background. The Navi's startlingly green eyes flew open. He blinked a couple of times, then spoke._

_"Hello. I'm Nocturne. You must be Dr. Cossack."_

_"Yes. Very good. Just as smart as I programmed you to be."_

_Nocturne's gaze turned down to his hands, opening and closing them. "Yes… Just as I was programmed… I am… a program."_

_Dr. Cossack nodded. Nocturne had sounded somewhat sad when he said that. Perhaps he had put a bit too much human emotion into his programming… but it was too late to change something as big as that now. April would probably like it anyways._

_"A program you may be," The old scientist spoke up. Intense green eyes met his own. "But you are a very special Navi. I created you to be partners with my granddaughter, April."_

_Nocturne's head tilted slightly to the side. "April?" He repeated._

_"Yes. The two of you will make a very nice team I believe. You are different from other Navi's, Nocturne."_

_"How so?"_

_"You are more… what's the best word… sensitive, than others."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_Dr. Cossack leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together in his lap. "Not only are you more sensitive emotion-wise—making you more human-like—but your other programs are the most advanced of their kind. You will be able to download and process items more quickly, and also assimilate other programs with more ease than most." A broad smile lit his aging face. "April's growing into a budding young programmer. I've made sure you'll be able to help her with whatever she needs."_

_Nocturne nodded, his gaze returning to his hands. "Thank you doctor. When will I get to meet April?"_

_Dr. Cossack smiled again, another successful creation, and the thought of how much April was going to love her new Navi made the old doctor very happy._

_"You will meet her in a few days. I don't mean to sound callous, but you are her birthday present."_

_Nocturne blinked, then a smile stretched across his face. "No, I don't find that callous at all. It makes me feel rather… special. I can't wait to meet her."_

- - -

Nocturne sat, still scowling at the window, as result after result was processed and discarded. He sighed and closed it down, absentmindedly scratching the back of his head.

"Well, that's no good…" He thought out loud. "Neither Requiem or Bass are anywhere in the normal 'Net. They must have gone to the UnderNet… and I can't conduct a search unless I'm actually there, blast it."

An idea suddenly exploded in his head. He pulled up the recording of Bass and Requiem's fight, pausing it a few moments before the two independent Navis left. He zoomed in on one of the blue cubes surrounding Requiem, getting close enough to see the coding that made it up.

"There they are…" He breathed out. "The coordinates." While it was still extremely unlikely that Requiem was still there, the coordinates marked the place she had entered the UnderNet.

"It's as good of a starting point as any." Nocturne thought aloud again, closing down the window and jumping to his feet.

He looked over at April, wondering how long he would have to search before she woke up. She had just barely fallen asleep a couple of hours ago, and the sooner Nocturne got on Requiem's trail, the better of a chance he would have of finding her.

"I'll be back soon April." He said out loud, wondering vaguely if she could hear him in her sleep. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the coordinates he had memorized.

"Where do ya think you're going?"

Nocturne's eyes flew open. Standing in front of him, a smug little grin on his face, was…

"Tomahawkman!"

The Indian Navi grinned and threw his arm around Nocturne's shoulders. "Leaving your NetOp like that? Nocturne, you disappoint me!"

Bewilderment shone clearly on Nocturne's face. "What?"

"Just leaving her… when she's asleep even!" Tomahawkman shook his head. "You do realize that the moment you'll leave, she'll probably wake up, right?"

Nocturne looked away. "Yeah…"

Tomahawkman's grin faded. "What's wrong?"

A small frown creased Nocturne's brow. "It's just… I have to go find Requiem!" He threw Tomahawkman's arm off him and brought Requiem's last coordinates up in his mind.

_WHACK!_

"Ow!!" Nocturne exclaimed, rubbing the newly formed bump on his head. "What was that for?!"

"I had to keep you from leaving, didn't I?" Tomahawkman responded causally, rubbing the broad side of his tomahawk that had connected with Nocturne's head. "It's too dangerous to just go running off to the UnderNet without being prepared."

"But I have to try!" Nocturne exclaimed. "I have to try and find her for April!"

Tomahawkman raised an eyebrow. "You're willing to go up against an unstable Bass to try to bring her back?" Nocturne nodded vigorously. "And you think you would be able to?" More nodding. Tomahawkman looked at him for a moment, then broke out into a smile. "Heh… we're a lot alike you know."

Confusion reigned supreme on Nocturne's face. "We are?"

Tomahawkman nodded. "Yep! You know… every time Colonel and Baryl give me and Dingo a difficult mission, we're able to go through and succeed because we know that they believe in us and trust us to do our best."

Nocturne listened, slightly in awe. Tomahawkman hardly ever talked about his and Dingo's missions for the Netopia military.

Tomahawkman grinned at the memories. "It's nice to have someone who believes in you always, no matter what the situation is." He glanced over at Nocturne. "April believes in you, but I know she wouldn't want you rushing stupidly into something that could get you deleted."

Nocturne didn't answer. He watched his NetOp sleep, her last few words echoing over and over in his mind: _'I can always count on you Nocturne…'_

"So cheer up!" Tomahawkman threw his arm around Nocturne's shoulders again, a little more rough than necessary, jolting Nocturne out of his thoughts. "You'll find Requiem again eventually. I'm sure of it!" Tomahawkman grinned cheerily.

Nocturne finally grinned too, and threw his arm roughly around Tomahawkman's shoulders, whacking him in the back of the head. "Thanks Tomahawkman."

Tomahawkman pounded Nocturne's back, sending stars dancing in his vision. "No problem buddy!"

- - -

Everything was comfortably dark. April grimaced in her mind, unwillingly coming back to consciousness. She kept her eyes closed, enjoying the soft bed.

_This feels so nice… so relaxing… I haven't had the chance to rest like this in a while… why are my feet wet?_

Slowly, she opened her eyes. The right side of her vision remained black; the bandages were tight enough to stop any light from coming through. She looked around at the slowly sharpening images, starting to recognize the same room she had been in the last time she was in the hospital. A figure in a dark blue hoodie was resting his head at the foot of her bed. April rubbed her eye and her vision cleared. The figure was Dingo. He was fast asleep, his mouth open and a large puddle of drool trailing from his mouth.

_Huh. So that's why my feet are wet._

"Glad to see you're finally awake."

April turned her head to her left and smiled softly. "Chaud…"

He was sitting in a chair next to her bed, leaning back with his arms folded across his chest. One bandage was plastered on his cheek and another on the one hand April could see. "How long have I been asleep?" She asked, her voice slightly gravelly.

"Just a day." He replied, unfolding his arms and resting his elbows on the edge of her bed. He took one of her hands in both of his and held it gently. "The doctors took out your right eye—it was very badly damaged. Dr. Toramizu is looking at the blueprints from the last time you were here and is going to make you a new one. You'll have both eyes again." He smiled, the corners of his lips lifting softly.

April smiled too. "That's good to know. Where's…?"

She didn't have to finish her question as Chaud picked up her PET from the table and handed it to her. She took it and grinned widely down at Nocturne.

"Some déjà vu, huh?"

He chuckled twice. "Yeah. Brings back memories, doesn't it?"

She nodded, then looked up. Dingo's puddle of sleep-drool was widening, threatening to overtake her knees. She tapped him on the top of his head with her foot. "Rise and shine. You're drooling on my bed sheets."

Dingo sleepily opened his eyes, blinked, then sat up quickly once his mind finally registered that April was awake. "April! You're awake!"

She laughed. "Yeah. That's old news sleepy head. My feet are wet 'cause of you."

He blushed and grinned sheepily, his hand behind his head. "Yeah… sorry about that… heh heh…"

The door opened, and the tall, lavender-haired figure of Dr. Toramizu walked in. "Ah… glad to see you're awake April." He said as he walked over to the machines on the opposite side of her bed. "I'm sure Chaud has told you about your eye."

"Yes, he has."

The doctor nodded, leaning in close to the monitors and scribbling some numbers down on the pad of paper on the clipboard he was carrying.

"With your permission, I would like to use the same blue prints that your grandfather gave us a few years ago to replace your eye again."

April nodded. "Sure. Go ahead. Don't know why you need my permission though…"

Dr. Toramizu straightened up. "Well—"

The door to the hallway suddenly flew open with a _bang_, startling everybody in the room. A young man rushed into the room, breathing heavily. "D-Doctor Toramizu!" He panted.

"Yes? What is it?"

"I-It's Dr. Cossack!"

April sat up and Dr. Toramizu looked up from his clipboard sharply. "What's happened?"

"It's just… that… well… you'll just have to see for yourself!"

Dr. Toramizu almost ran out of the room. April staggered out of bed, sliding her feet into the slippers on the floor.

"April? What are you doing?" Chaud asked, catching her arm as she started to wobble.

April grabbed a hold of the I.V. and pulled it along with her as she hobbled out of the room, PET held tight in her hand and Chaud and Dingo following behind.

"I'm going to see my grandfather."

* * *

HECK YES. I FINALLY FINISHED THE CHAPTER.

Sorry all for the very long wait… College life is a lot more stressful and difficult than anticipated… ^^;

But I finally dragged this out of my brain. Much thanks to my cousin MHA for talking with me. It really helps, thank you!

Not much further now… we're almost done. 1, maybe 2 more chapters and an epilogue.

Next time!

Everything will be explained.

Phew… I can't believe it… it's almost been 2 years since I've started… wow. That's awesome… in a it-probably-shouldn't-have –taken-this-long-but-thank-you-all-for-sticking-with-it sort of way…

Yes….

Brownie point to anyone who can figure out the doctor (*cough*earl*cough*) that Dr. Toramizu looks like… (no spoiling MHA!) I'll tell you next time if no one can get it.

**LOVE ME AND REVIEW PLEASE! ^^**


	16. An Explanation… and Wishes

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Chapter 15

"An Explanation… and Wishes"

Dingo and Chaud tensely followed April down the long hallway to her grandfather's room. She moved slowly, wincing slightly as every other step sent tendrils of pain slicing through her head, where her right eye should be. As they got closer, they saw that the door was open, light and muffled voices spilling through. One was the voice of the lanky Dr. Toramizu, several nervous comments from the assistant that had rushed in to April's room, and the third was a low soft voice, sounding as if it hadn't been used by its owner in years.

April's eyes widened as the last voice reached her ears, and she hurried forward, tripping over her feet in her haste.

Chaud and Dingo caught her as she stumbled, Dingo slipping her left arm over his shoulders and Chaud her right, grabbing on to the IV that was still in her arm.

"Slow down April." He said, grinning at her eagerness. "We'll get there in time."

April scowled at him, but said nothing, concentrating instead on keeping her grip on her PET, and keeping her walk steady with as little pain as possible.

They reached the door, and April shrugged their arms off, walking in on her own. Dr. Toramizu was standing next to the bed, blocking the view of its occupant. He turned slightly to her as she came in, a frown wrinkling at the sides of his eyes. "April… I thought you would still be in your room."

"Are you kidding?" April limped across the room, nudging the assistant aside as he rushed forward. "I've been here every time something important has happened to Grandpa, do you think I'm going to miss something like—" Her breath caught in her throat as she reached the side of the bed and pushed Dr. Toramizu away.

"Something like your grandfather waking up?" Said the occupant of the bed softly.

"G-Grandpa…" April choked out. "Y-You're… awake…"

He smiled tiredly, leaning back on the pillows. "Yes I am. How good of you to notice."

Dingo pulled a chair up beside the bed and pushed April onto it. He grinned his big, contagious grin, resting his hands behind his head. "Hey Dr. Cossack!" He bowed slightly, smiling cheerily.

April smiled also, putting her hand on top of her grandfather's. "Oh Grandpa… I have _so_ much to tell you!"

He nodded, glancing at the bandages covering her face. _It almost feels like no time has passed. Everything is almost the same…_He glimpsed someone standing behind Dingo. He moved his head back slightly. "Ah. Young Chaud Blaze. Fancy seeing you here."

Chaud had been hanging back somewhat awkwardly; big, familial groups were not his forte. He walked forward hesitantly at the doctor's notice, standing between Dingo and April. "Hello sir." He said in the normal, stiff tone he used with his elders. "How are you feeling?"

April gently slapped his hip with the back of her hand. He winced inwardly; the final remnants of the bruise he had given himself falling off his chair were still lingering. It had been a large bruise, fabulously colored purple and black.

"Don't be so tense." She whispered. "You've met him before, silly."

Dr. Cossack heard and chuckled hoarsely, his voice still rusty from being unused for 3 years. He put his other hand on top of April's, making a stack of three of their hands. She turned her attention back to him. "April my girl… you've grown into a beautiful young woman." She blushed lightly and mumbled her thanks, squeezing his hand.

Dr. Toramizu swallowed an impatient sigh and pushed his way back to the doctor's bedside. "Lovely and cute this reunion may be," he said briskly, pushing his glasses up his nose, "I have work to do, inspecting the patient. April, you go back to your own room and lay down, I or a nurse will be in momentarily to check up on you. Get some rest." He wiggled his long, slender fingers at her. "You need it."

April scowled up at him, then sighed. "Ok Dr. Toramizu." She stood, then leaned over the bed and softly kisses her grandfather's forehead and whispered. "I finished Grandpa… just you wait and see what I've done."

Dr. Cossack grinned and patted her cheek. "There's a good girl. Now go do what the doctor says. We'll have plenty of time to talk later."

"Ok. Rest well Grandpa."

"You too April."

She turned and left, pulling her IV along, and didn't look back. Chaud and Dingo followed her after saying their good-byes to Dr. Cossack.

The old man smiled after the group as Dr. Toramizu flit from one machine to the next, scribbling notes on his clipboard and muttering to the assistant.

April laid in her bed, with some help from Chaud and Dingo. After a few moments of talking, a nurse came in and shooed the two away, saying she needed to run tests. Dingo patted her head and Chaud gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before they left. After a while, the nurse left too, and April and Nocturne were alone.

"How are you feeling April?"

She rested her PET on the stand and put it on her stomach, like she always did at home. "Tired… and overwhelmed."

Nocturne tilted his head. "How so?"

"I promised Grandpa that I would show him Requiem and all the work I've done when he woke up…" She sighed, closing her eye. "And now that Requiem's gone, I have nothing left to show him."

"You have the battle and awakening recordings. And the data still on that disc."

She opened her eye again. "I wasn't recording her awakening…"

Nocturne grinned sheepishly. "I was. Whenever you did any work on her, I took the liberty and recorded it all. Even when we copied Bass' data."

A wide smile erupted on April's face and she hugged her PET tightly. "You're amazing Nocturne! That's going to help so much! Hopefully, it's all that Grandpa will need."

Nocturne stretched his arms across the screen—his version of a hug. "You're welcome."

They sat that way, silent, for a very long time. A nurse eventually came in with a tray of food, checked two of the monitors besides April's bed, then smiled and left after telling her to ring when she was done. April picked slowly at her food, thinking hard.

The nurse had taken the tray, and Dr. Toramizu came in. "April, replacing your eye is going to take a little longer than last time."

"How so?"

Dr. Toramizu pushed his glasses up his nose. "Your grandfather… insisted on drawing up new plans for a replacement eye, insisting that the original was obsolete and no longer necessary."

April nodded, understanding.

"But," the doctor continued, "he is not yet recovered enough to take on such a task. As the time gets closer, we will let you know what's happening, and hopefully be able to perform the operation quicker than last time."

April nodded again and laid back on her pillows, suddenly tired. "Thank you doctor."

Dr. Toramizu flashed her one of his rare genuine smiles. "You're my patient after all. I must take care of you." He tapped the beside, right above a panel of buttons. "Ring if you need anything at all." He said, the turned sharply and walked out of the room, holding his clipboard by his side.

All was quiet for a moment, the April commented. "If I know Grandpa, he'll be starting those plans at the end of the week."

- - -

April was right. Dr. Cossack had started the new plans at the end of the week and worked hard, though slower than he usually did. He finished in two and a half days, and gave the plans to Dr. Toramizu, who in turn said they should be prepared to operate in several days.

April spent a lot of time in her grandfather's room and, consequently, so did Chaud and Dingo. Lan and his father visited every so often, bringing news about how the rebuilding of Scilab's Net was coming along after Bass and Requiem's fight nearly destroyed it.

At the first moment she could, April gave all of Nocturne's recordings and notes of Requiem's building process and awakening to Dr. Cossack. He studied them intently, from every possible angle. Dr. Toramizu told him one day to calm down and take it easy on the studying, to which Dr. Cossack replied: "My mind has done nothing for years. I enjoy using it doctor, keeping my mind active and strong, even though my body is not. Please don't ask that of me again."

April's operation came and went successfully, her bandages coming off and the seeing program coming online within a day. Although her grandfather had asked, she requested to keep the eye color yellow, to keep things how they had been.

It had been several weeks since Dr. Cossack woke up, and April finally asked him one day, when all who had witnessed Requiem's awakening were present: "What have you found out Grandpa? Is she how you imagined?"

Dr. Cossack smiled and turned his laptop so everyone could see the pictures displayed on it. Requiem and Bass were side by side, each on the day of their own awakening. Their posture was exactly the same.

"Very close to what I had planned my dear April." He smiled. "Though I must admit… I wanted her to be more docile… but she has your consciousness in her, April, there is no way she would be docile."

_You've got that right._Chaud thought, rubbing the back of his head where he could feel the scar from the desk corner.

_That is so true…_ Dingo thought, rubbing his neck at the memory of April's enthusiastic greeting. It seemed so long ago.

"There is something I don't understand, Dr. Cossack." Dr. Hikari spoke up, leaning on the end of the bed. "How is it that Requiem was able to stop Bass?"

"For that matter," Chaud added, "how was she able to cry?"

Dr. Cossack was silent. He fiddled with his laptop, and a still of Requiem, a tear shining on her cheek, Bass' hand attempting to choke the life out of her, appeared on the screen.

"That is because she, like Bass, are both slightly human."

Shock reverberated through the silence. Dr. Cossack smiled apologetically.

"I don't expect you to really understand… I don't really understand myself. But," he looked back at the screen, "if you add human data to a Navi's data, it changes them radically. Look at Nocturne, for example."

April held up her PET in surprise. "What?"

"Me?" Nocturne pointed to himself. "What do you mean doctor?"

"When I was creating you, Nocturne, I programmed you with real human emotions. I'm sure you've noticed how you feel more connected to the human side of this world than you do the cyber side."

Nocturne nodded thoughtfully, and Dr. Cossack continued. "It is the same with Requiem and Bass. Except for one key difference. They have their own _human personality_. There is something about putting human data in a Navi, instead of just regular programs, that allows them to tap into their full power, and allows them to truly think for themselves and adapt to very strange situations, like human tend to do. I believe Requiem was able to cry a real tear because she had actual human DNA, from April, controlling the rest of her programming, where as Bass has no such thing."

The room stayed silent as Dr. Cossack finished his explanation, the other occupants and their Navis trying to take it all in.

It was Chaud that broke the silence. "I heard Nocturne and April mention right after Requiem awoke that she was to be the partner of Bass, until the Alpha Revolt. What does this mean? What was her original purpose?"

Dr. Cossack sighed and leaned back on his pillows, his eyes growing sorrowful. April and Nocturne glanced at each other, then back at him.

"Bass wasn't always destructive and full of hate as he is now." Dr. Cossack started quietly. "When I first created him, he was thoughtful, always wanting to help solve problems, but awkward and unable to fit in with the rest of us. He seemed depressed… so I set out to create a partner for him, one that would fill this void he seemed to have. She was going to be a nice surprise for him. One who could keep him company, understand him…" He paused, and whispered, "And make him smile with happiness, not satisfaction.

"Her purpose was to be almost the same as Bass'. Help to improve the network, while at the same time, being there for the one that would need her most." He stopped, and shook his head. "I do not know how long it will take the two to adapt to one another, especially with Bass as he is now." He pushed a button on his keyboard, and the still of Requiem hugging Bass filled the screen. "But I can only hope it will be soon." He whispered. "Then they will both be whole."

He patted April's hand, and smiled at her and Nocturne. "You did a wonderful job. My only wish is that I could have met her."

- - -

Her grandfather's wish rang in her head as April laid in her hospital bed that night. She absentmindedly stroked the edge of her PET, gazing up at the ceiling.

"I wish that too…" She whispered. Nocturne looked up at her, understanding.

"There is nothing we could have done to keep her here April." He clenched his fists in anger, but kept his voice steady. "Nothing at all…"

April sighed. "I know… but that doesn't really make me feel any better." She traced around her eye, where metal met flesh. "I wish I could see her again too; take the chance to really get to talk to her and know what she thinks and feels…" She glanced at Nocturne, rather sad. "But what will happen will happen, right?"

Nocturne pressed his palms against the screen, his human emotions filling with longing, wanting to make his NetOp happy. "You're right."

There was silence a moment, then he blurted out, "I'll find her for you April."

She blinked in surprise. "What?"

Nocturne nodded, clenching his fists. "Just you watch. I'll find Requiem for you, and bring her back so that both you and Dr. Cossack can have your wishes fulfilled. I'll do it for you April."

She blinked again, then smiled happily. "I know you can do it Nocturne. I'll help you in any way I can." She leaned back against her pillows, turning to face the PET on the table, blinking tiredly and yawning. "Thank you… I can always count on you, Nocturne…"

He watched her start to fall asleep, and gently whispered, feeling his emotions surge, "I love you April…"

She smiled, her eyes closed. "I love you too Nocturne."

- - -

Once April was released, things returned to normal, more or less.

April visited her grandfather every day after work, telling him about what had happened over the past three years, and blushing lightly whenever he asked how she and Chaud were doing.

Chaud continued to work at SciLab, improving his programming skills and appliying them at his father's company. One day, he visited Dr. Cossack early in the morning, bowed respectfully to the old doctor, and repeated his wish and asked for permission to start courting April. Dr. Cossack smiled and cheered silently, granting the boy's wish with a slap on the back, a firm handshake, and a serious warning. "Respect her, or so help me I'll climb out of this bed and come after you myself."

They both had a good laugh after that.

Dingo found an apartment in the same building as April's and they thoroughly enjoyed being neighbors. Every so often, he would be called away for periods of time to carry out missions for the Netopia military, which both he and Tomahawkman tackled with great gusto.

Lan and Dr. Hikari both stayed at SciLab, researching interesting, and sometimes obscure topics, keeping the populace on their toes with their discoveries.

One night, after a welcome home party for Dingo, April bid Chaud good-bye on her doorstep, and walked inside to find Nocturne smiling broadly.

"What are you so happy about?" She asked, wading through the mess that was her apartment.

"I'd think you'd be happy too." Nocturne said smugly. "I know something that's going to happen you Dr. Cossack that not even he knows."

April's eyes went wide and she rushed over to her computer, nearly tripping on the broom in her haste. "What, what, what?"

Nocturne grinned, his smugness level rising. "He's going to be released in three days."

April gasped, then looked around wildly. "OH!! I'd better clean up and get him a place to sleep! Oh!" She ran again, tripped fully on the broom, got her feet entangled in a stray cord and fell into a pile of socks. Nocturne frowned.

"You know, I thought about that. Then I thought, why not just ask Chaud if he could stay there?" April looked back at him, a sock lying in her hair.

"Hmm… that's a good idea…" She said hesitantly.

Nocturne grinned. "It'll also give you a reason to go visit Chaud outside of work and Dingo's welcome home parties."

"I'll ask him tomorrow!" April sat up excitedly, happily.

Nocturne smiled to himself as she got ready for bed. This would occupy April's mind for a while, and take it off the search for Requiem that was getting nowhere. They said their good nights, and Nocturne watched her fall asleep.

_I'll find her for you April… I'll make you happy in any way I can._ He clenched his fists. _I promise you April. I will._

* * *

HOLY. COW.

Oof… that took longer than I thought… man… summer's nearly over! ^^;

I hate work with every fiber of my being. Just fyi.

Oh and btw, Dr. Toramizu looks like Lloyd Apslund from Code Geass. ^^ it's a good show.

It's been 2 years. Thanks for sticking with me.

Next time

The epilogue

**Love me and REVIEW PLEASE!!!**


	17. Epilogue: 4 months later

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Epilogue

"4 Months Later"

Nocturne zoomed quietly around the UnderNet, his feet strapped to a board April had made him.

_"It's like a cyber snowboard." _She had explained. _"It's what I stared working on after…" She hesitated slightly and Nocturne could sense her frustration. "After Requiem left with Bass. Anyways, you can travel around much faster anywhere you want, so have fun with it!" She smiled._

Nocturne grinned at the memory and tapped a button on the board near his toe. Immediately, the board turned green and flew forward, the UnderNet flashing by underneath. He dodged around random floating blocks of data, and soon caught sight of a couple of Navi's hovering ahead. He pushed a second button; the board turned purple and slowed, then faded to black as he stopped. He inched forward.

The two Navi's seemed to be talking. After a moment, one nodded and flew off, leaving the other standing alone. Nocturne hid behind a nearby data block and peered at the mysterious Navi. The Navi turned her head and Nocturne's eyes widened in surprise.

"Requiem…" He whispered.

She tilted her head to the side, then called out. "Come on out, whoever you are."

Nocturne blinked, then shrugged and stepped out, floating over to her. "Hello Requiem." He said once he got within a few feet from her.

She tilted her head the other way, looking confused for a moment before recognition finally kicked in. "Oh! You're… Nocturne, right?"

He nodded. "You remember me? It's been a while."

She thought for half a second. "Four months, two days, six hours and seventeen minutes, to be precise."

Nocturne shook his head, laughing silently. "Four months would've been good enough." His smile dropped and his face became serious. "You know, your disappearance caused April a lot of pain."

Her slender eyebrows tilted downwards in a frown. "April… I have caused my creator… pain? But how?"

Nocturne floated closer, and rested his hand on Requiem's shoulder. For a heartbeat, their data streams intertwined, and Nocturne showed Requiem his memories over the last few months, how April told her grandfather all about Requiem, and also how frustrated she had seemed to become. The corners of Requiem's mouth turned down as she took this all in, and she grabbed her left elbow with her right hand.

_That's the spot where Bass touched her when she awoke…_ Nocturne thought with a slight pain, separating their data streams but keeping his hand on her shoulder. "Do you understand now?" He whispered.

Requiem nodded, her frown still in place. "I can understand April's emotions; I have felt them myself, right here." She tapped her Navi mark; two wavy lines ran side by side over a black background, one red, one yellow, the same colors as her eyes.

Nocturne took a deep breath. "You have to come back Requiem, just to see her again. She wants to introduce you to her grandfather, the one who originally designed you, and…" He hesitated.

"And what?"

He shook his head, hiding his disgust at his loss of courage. "It's… It's nothing. But please…" He put his other hand on her free shoulder and looked deeply into her different eyes. It was almost the same as making eye contact with April. "You must. I've been looking for you this whole time; seeing you would make April happy again." _And me as well…_ He thought, but didn't say out loud.

Indecision flowed thickly across Requiem's face and eyes. "Well… I…"

"No."

The new voice right behind Nocturne startled him; he whipped around and found himself almost nose-to-nose with Bass. Nocturne jumped back in surprise, almost collided with Requiem, wobbled a moment on his cyber board, and regained his balance, standing to Requiem's right. "N-No?" He asked once he had found his voice again. "What do you mean, no?"

Requiem glanced sharply at him, trying to warn him, but Nocturne kept his clear green eyes locked with Bass' blood red ones. "I mean no." Bass said in a whispery tone. "Requiem stays with me."

"And why?!" Nocturne demanded, pushing down his fear, thinking of how happy April would be. "Why should she do whatever you tell her?" He felt Requiem stir nervously next to him.

Bass' eyes flashed dangerously. "You dare question me, gnat?" He whispered menacingly.

Nocturne opened his mouth to respond angrily; in a flash, Requiem was standing between the two. "Enough." Her voice had the same whispery tone as Bass' but was much more piercing. "There will be no fighting."

Bass was silent, glowering at Nocturne. Nocturne turned his gaze to Requiem. "Please come with me." He asked lowly.

Requiem looked painfully back. "Like Bass said, I can't go Nocturne." He scowled and she sighed, turning to fully face him. "I wish I could make you understand, the way you made me understand how April was feeling." She put her hand on Nocturne's cheek. "But I can't… we are not alike Nocturne…" She stopped, closed her eyes and spoke quietly. "We can never truly understand each other."

Nocturne felt as if he had been stabbed in the gut and had his Navi Mark ripped out of his chest. He dropped his gaze, unsure of what to do. He had not expected this to happen. He had thought that Requiem would agree whole-heartedly and that April would be finally truly happy once again. "Please…" He whispered, the only word that came to mind.

Requiem opened her mismatched eyes, gazing sadly at Nocturne. She hesitated, then leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Nocturne's forehead, momentarily glancing into the humanistic emotions he had. "Tell my creator April," She whispered, "That I will come back when the time is right. I will come back to you both."

Nocturne's breath caught and he looked up at Requiem's soft smile. "Requiem…" He breathed.

"Good-bye for now, Nocturne." She let her hand fall from his face and moved backwards to stand next to Bass. Blue cubes surrounded them both, Requiem smiling, Bass glaring.

"Requiem!" Nocturne jumped off his board, his arm outstretched. His fingers passed through empty air as the two independent Navi's disappeared elsewhere in the Net. Nocturne fell through the air, followed by his cyber board.

He fell unmoving through the air, then twisted and landed on his feet at the last moment. He deftly caught his board a second later. His green eyes were dark and furious.

He didn't know how long his stood there, trying to sort out his emotions, clutching to his board. Eventually, he let the board drop; it hovered in the air, and he stepped on. He looked up at the spot Requiem and Bass had left.

"I will tell April, Requiem… Hurry back."

Looking solidly forwards, he pushed the button by his toe. The board shimmered green and he flew off into the dark UnderNet, heading for home.

_Wait for me April… I've found her… but you don't need her… you have me._ He smiled as he kicked the speed up, dodging data cubes. _I promise I'll find a way to always keep you happy._

THE END

* * *

Next time: Author's thoughts on the whole thing.

**Love me and review PLEASE!!!**


	18. Afterwords: Author's Final Thoughts

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

Author's Final Thoughts

Two years. It's been two years, to the day, when this story was first published. Two years of stress, worry, interesting conversations, erasing, fangirling, pondering, writing, re-writing, and joy.

This is the longest story I've ever written and finished. I have plenty of things started, but none have been completed. This fic is pretty freakin' special to me, but it's like a great weight off my chest knowing that it's finally done. You guys don't have to wait anymore! XD

It took quite a bit to write this, and I'm kinda glad it took so long. Looking back, I can see how my writing and storytelling and descriptions, and even my fight scenes have improved. I know there are some things that could be better explained, or written better, but I'm just going to leave it as is, unless I spot a typo. Then I'll fix it. My OCD won't let it exist. XD

Thank you's are in order, now that it's complete. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, especially those who took the time to review every chapter. It really brought my spirits up to find out I had a review, and encouraged me to go on… though a lot of times, I wouldn't right away… ^^; and a really UBER BIG thank you goes to my cousin, MarHeavenAngel for everything, from help of the conception of this story (during that wonderfully happy fangirl day at the hotel… remember? XD greatest pausing moments EVER!!) to talking me through tough parts, and even inspiring others. Especially the fluffy oneshots. Ahh… the oneshots. XDDDDDD but seriously. Thank you to everyone, even those that just read and didn't review. You're lazy, but I still love you. XD *hugs*

So now, we bring this adventure to a close. I had fun creating and writing with April, Nocturne, and Requiem. They'll pop up now and again in my stories, so keep your eyes out! ^^ tell your friends, your neighbors, everybody. Now that it's finished, no more waiting required! Go back and read it again and again! Feel free to message me with any questions, comments, or concerns (tho I hope concerns are few and far between…) Srsly people… talk to me. Let me know! ^_^

Once again, thank you for reading and sticking with me. You're all wonderful.

Keep writing! ^_^

Pharaohs Queen


	19. YOU THOUGHT THE FIGHT WAS OVER

YOU THOUGHT THE FIGHT WAS OVER

YOU THOUGHT THE NET WAS AT PEACE

YOU THOUGHT SHE WAS NEVER COMING BACK

* * *

YOU

THOUGHT

**WRONG**

* * *

**COMING**

**NOVEMBER 2011:**

**Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Return**


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